Today Abigail passed a motion in Parliament celebrating International Wombat Day.

Abigail said:

I move:

(1) That this House notes that:

• Wednesday 22 October 2025 was International Wombat Day, that celebrates the wombat, a short-legged burrowing furball which is native to Australia and renowned for their chunky bodies, teddy bear-like faces and famously cube‑shaped droppings;
• although they may resemble oversized rodents or miniature bears, wombats are actually marsupials, relatives of kangaroos and koalas that also carry their young in their pouch;
• commonly known as ecological engineers, wombats are natural digging machines and play an important role in keeping Australia's ecosystems healthy;
• wombats' extensive burrowing helps to dramatically improve soil health by bringing critical nutrients to the surface, which helps improve nutrient flow, supports better water infiltration and aids vegetation growth;
• wombats' digging also recycles organic matter and spreads beneficial fungi spores across the environment, which helps plants to more effectively absorb nutrients;
• the burrows that wombats create are complex and deep and often provide shelter for many other native animals seeking somewhere to sleep or a safe haven from non-native predators and a 2024 study captured images of over 15,000 individual animals including echidnas, wallabies, bush rats, lizards and birds, inspecting, foraging, entering and leaving, or even bathing in and drinking from the water that pooled inside wombat burrows;
• once widespread across southern and eastern Australia, wombats have faced significant challenges due to a combination of land clearing, habitat destruction, extreme weather events, the spread of disease, illegal hunting and road deaths;
• in the early 1900s, tens of thousands of wombats across Australia were killed under government bounty programs and although wombats are legally protected today including under the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016, thousands of wombats are legally killed each year under permits which are often granted in response to claims of property damage;
• wombats are slow breeding and territorial, meaning the death of even a single individual can affect the stability of local populations;
• wombat gates and wildlife-friendly fencing are among many humane alternatives to help property owners manage damage by wombats and their burrows, however these alternatives are rarely promoted or funded;
• most wombats seen in New South Wales will be the bare-nosed wombat, which has a large, naked snout, small eyes and a tiny tail hidden in their fur;
• the much rarer southern hairy-nosed wombat was thought to be extinct in New South Wales until recently, and is now listed as endangered in New South Wales;
• the northern hairy-nosed wombat was presumed to be extinct in New South Wales, listed as critically endangered and now only found in a few protected areas in Queensland; and
• European settlement in Australia saw the introduction of non-native species and cattle, which caused population numbers of the northern hairy-nosed wombat to plummet dramatically, and by 1980 numbers had reduced to just 35 wombats, however after over 40 years of dedicated conservation work by The Wombat Foundation and other advocates, there are now over 400 northern hairy-nosed wombats living in Queensland.

(2) That this House expresses its sincere gratitude to the many dedicated volunteers and advocates who work incredibly hard to protect and conserve wombats and their habitats, including the many wildlife volunteers who rescue and rehabilitate injured wombats.

(3) That this House calls on the Government to support efforts to protect wombat populations in New South Wales.

Motion agreed to.

Read the transcript in Hansard here.

11 November 2025