12/2/2023 0 Comments Koala habitat![]() ![]() Join the Koala Army. The Australian Koala Foundation is committed to the introduction of the Koala Protection Act to provide real legislative protection for koalas, and we need your help. Speak to your federal member. The Government needs to hear your story to convince them to protect Koalas and their habitat. Write letters to the editor of your local and national newspapers. Often they will have an environmental reporter who may be interested in the plight of your Koalas. Below we have listed some of the things that might make a difference. By the time you read this page the bulldozers may already be working, but it is not too late to take action. This is supposed to be the premier law for protecting Australia’s environment, yet it is powerless. If it did work, how come the listing got worse. Now in 2022 the Koala was listed as “Endangered” under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act and the law is not fit for purpose. The listing of the Koala as “vulnerable” under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act in 2012 changed nothing and did not cover Koalas in Victoria nor in South Australia. Queensland Environment Minister Meaghan Scanlon told Yahoo News Australia she believes her government has introduced the “strongest koala protections in Queensland’s history”.There is currently no legislation, anywhere in the country, that can protect Koalas and Koala habitat in Australia. She points to work currently being undertaken at a state and local level to protect portions of habitat, vaccinate against chlamydia, and improve wildlife crossing signage. While there is much work to be done, Ms Waterman believes the council and state government are making some progress improving the welfare of koalas. ![]() How Council and the State Government are helping koalas This could include:īuilding straight rather than circular streets that wildlife can navigateĬonstructing fences that koalas are able to climb overīuilding overpasses to avoid vehicle strikesĬohesive management plans for koalas living in fragmented habitat While many only cry foul after the bulldozers have moved in and it’s too late to save habitat, Ms Waterman wants to see better conservation planning at new developments. Six simple steps to help Coomera's koalas “So they're not trapped what we want to do is stop creating islands and create connectivity,” she said. One solution she would like enacted is the protection and regeneration of habitat protected so animals can travel in and out of densely forested areas. That doesn't mean she thinks it's acceptable that koalas are forced out of suburban areas by development. Ms Waterman believes it unlikely that land already approved for development can be saved as lawsuits to stop construction in Queensland have failed and the cost of buybacks is prohibitive. The Morrison Government declined to adopt many of Professor Samuel’s recommendations, and the Albanese government has since committed to “consult widely” and provide its own response before 2023.įollowing questions from Yahoo News Australia about the koala situation in Coomera, Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek said habitat protection is largely regulated by state and territory governments. However, in 2021, independent reviewer Professor Graeme Samuel found the EPBC was “ineffective” and needed to be overhauled. Tanya Plibersek responds to plight of Coomera koalasĪustralia has more than 1900 species protected by the Commonwealth’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act. The Queensland government also has plans to build a new motorway, the Coomera Connector, through what is currently healthy koala habitat.Īside from the Coomera Connector, approval for these developments largely occurred before the 2019/2020 Black Summer bushfires, prior to koalas being listed as endangered. The koala was living at at site on Foxwell Road in Coomera.
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