"Will you be the reason the koala survives, or the reason for its demise?": Environment Minister urged to implement protection Act

The chair of the Australian Koala Foundation has called on newly appointed Environment Minister Murray Watt to urgently implement a Koala Protect Act, while on Monday activists on the Mid North Coast rallied near the proposed Great Koala National Park to stop ongoing logging.

Chair of the Australian Koala Foundation (AKF), Deborah Tabart OAM addressed the 32nd International Congress for Conservation Biology (ICCB) in Brisbane on Monday, calling on the newly appointed Environment Minister, Murray Watt, to urgently implement a Koala Protection Act.

Tabart said the legislation reform is crucial to ensuring the species has a chance of long-term survival. Over many years and multiple governments, the past 15 environment ministers prior to Watt have all refused to consider it as an option.

“Our democracy demands that our Ministers listen to the experts in their fields and face up to even the hardest of truths,” she said.

Tabart is asking for Senator Watt to meet with her, discuss the science behind the gradual demise of koala populations and implement legislative reform to save the species.

Monday’s ICCB event in Brisbane was attended by more than 1,500 conservation professionals and students from around the world.

Tabart showcased AKF’s 30 year effort to map the entire geographical range of the Koala – spanning 1.5 million square kilometres across the country.

“The Koala is the canary in the coal mine for the entire Australian ecosystem. If we can’t save the Koala, we can’t save anything,” Tabart said.

“So, my question to Minister Watt is clear – will you be the reason the Koala survives, or the reason for its demise?”

Koalas are listed as endangered in NSW, QLD and the ACT. 

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On the Mid North Coast, a Great Koala National Park (GKNP) has been proposed and promised by the state Labor government. While the park boundaries are yet to be formally established, logging of the area can continue.

Today, a 70-year-old man was arrested after allegedly locking himself onto heavy equipment at East Bank Forest Road, Coramba. Police were called to the area following reports of a protest.

The man has been released.

NSW Greens MP Sue Higginson told the Mid North Coaster this particular area is a “stronghold” for the koala species. 

Higginson has written an urgent letter to Premier Chris Minns, NSW Minister for the Environment Penny Sharpe, and NSW Minister for Agriculture Tara Moriarty pleading for them to pull the machines out.

Higginson spoke specifically about Orara East State Forest, near Coffs Harbour, as an important part of the proposed GKNP site.

“Not Orara East, because it is one of those very, very important parts. We say it's essential to the integrity of the Great koala National Park. Obviously, every forest is really important, but this one plays a particular role because it is also part of the connectivity corridor connecting the north and the south of the park,” Higginson said.

“It's an area of the forest that the wildlife really relies on for its movements.”

Higginson said waiting for the GKNP to be officially established by the Labor government is now “more than desperate."

“The update is: it’s just taking too long. It’s gone too far in terms of the destruction of the promised too-long-awaited Great Koala National Park.

“We are still just too far away…The government keeps telling us ‘soon’ but the destruction keeps happening.”

“The hypocrisy is just too loud, people are feeling betrayed. There's a level of deception being felt.”

 “The Minns Labor government promised the Great Koala National Park, they’ve been in power now for over two years. There've been saying since the beginning of the year ‘soon’ and yet still no announcement, no establishment and in fact, the opposite the machines are in and they're destroying koala habitat as we speak.”

The Mid North Coaster has contacted Senator Murray Watt for comment.

Thumbnail image: Unsplash/ Simone Dinoia