Bourke mayor Lachlan Ford will meet NSW Environment Minister Penny Sharpe in Sydney on Friday over his Council’s concerns over the buy-ups of large agricultural land for new NSW National Parks.

The mayor has been vocal on the issue, backed by his councillors who said they were concerned about the effects on the Shire.

Mr Ford will be seeking clarity and co-operation from the Minister in recognising and acting on local impacts.

At a Bourke Shire Council meeting on Monday 17 November, Mayor Ford said he gained a meeting with the Minister after a chat with a DCEEW (Department of Climate, Energy, Environment and Water executive taking a phone call from the Ministers office not long after his initial meeting with the Department.

‘’Its lost opportunities and hurting our social fabric with people leaving the shire because of the loss of jobs and the cumulative effect of that on our community. ‘’ Mayor Ford said.

He has spoken with an executive at the Department of Climate, Energy, Environment in Sydney, telling fellow councillors at their meeting that he had received verbal assurance that ‘’No further purchases of land will be made in the Bourke Shire for new National Parks.’’

The mayor was congratulated by his councillors but he admitted there was no clarity around national parks land purchases in other areas.

The Bourke mayor will be seeking further assurances from the government, including a commitment to fencing to stop feral animals invading nearby landholders.

Bellenbar Station near Bourke was one of the recent purchases by the NSW Government.

Recent major land purchases in Bourke and Cobar shares has also worried state Member for Barwon Roy Butler who instigated a survey to capture local views.

The survey had 242 responses with most respondents saying they were deeply concerned about the spread of national parks and the flow-on impacts to their communities.

Mr Butler said the communities' biggest concerns around turning pastoral stations into National Parks are:

1) Losing a pastoral business that helps the local economy

2) High purchase prices affecting land values and stopping new farmers from entering the industry

3) Feral animals getting out of control.

Respondents were less concerned about poor fencing or the loss of access to roads or fire trails.

A majority support allowing conservation hunting in western National Parks to control feral animals, with just one in four supporting better fencing.

Bourke's mayor said councils everywhere were concerned about the effects of buy ups of land for new parks.

He said country mayors across the state are coming on board with their concerns .

On the North Coast jobs are being lost over the creation of the Great Koala Park over 475,00 hectares between Kempsey and Grafton.

The Barwon MP's survey indicated that the majority of respondents wanted the purchase of agricultural land for new Parks, to cease. 

"When asked what would make them more supportive of Western National Parks, more than 4 in 10 said stopping purchases above market value, with another 22% supporting clearer rules for converting pastoral stations to parks," Mr Butler said.