Hi Zoolander,
NPWS keep a record of the species returns list, the earliest ones were kept under wrap but eventually leaked to some NSW hobbyists, in later years they simply posted them on the old forums for everyone to see. These sheets stated which species were kept, on how many licences, how many bred and the m/f/u ratios as well as how many went forward to the next year. One of the earlier ones that leaked to the hobbyists (I believe around 1999/2000) DID show that there were 2 MALE White lipped pythons being kept in the state in private hands, and also out of interest showed the numbers of exotics on permit. I know for certain as I used to have a copy. The data releases went on for a couple of years but stopped a while back. These records were/are common knowledge to anyone thats been in the NSW hobby for say more than 6 years.
Sorry to stray off topic, they are a beautiful python!