In our view, the State Government’s recent announcement about conserving koalas in south east Queensland is a major disappointment for lovers of wildlife, especially ,koala fans.
If implemented it spells disaster for the koalas it purports to protect.
This is especially true in Redland City, with the Strategy defining large areas where koalas presently live to be completely unprotected.
The Queensland Government's public consultation process has 2 parts.
Feedback on the mapping showing the areas chosen for protection. This is now closed.
A response to a survey on the priorities of the strategy This is a narrow, controlled survey which provides limited options to the respondent. It closes next Friday 31 January. If you wish to complete it it can be accessed here
If you wish to send a dissenting email to the Minister for the Environment, with copies to other relevant persons, please click on the button above right.
In its grand announcement of a Draft South East Queensland Koala Conservation Strategy all of Redland City was shown as a Koala Priority Area. But the fine print reveals that the only way koala habitat will be protected going forward is if it is shown as ‘Koala Habitat” in the government’s official mapping.
Large areas of Redland City are not shown as koala habitat including areas where koalas are seen regularly and areas which currently have some form of koala habitat protection.
The Government has signed a death warrant for Redlands koalas especially in suburbs such as Cleveland, Ormiston and Wellington Point.
Have your say
To protect Redland City’s koalas it is important that people urge the government to include areas where koalas live now in the official habitat mapping..
The Government says it wants submissions about koala habitat mapping to be lodged by 22 December 2019. The submission process is geared to meeting the needs of property owners who want to have koala habitat mapping removed from their land.
So we suggest that you send your email submissions about the need for additional areas to be designated as koala habitat to the State Environment Minister with copies to:
We have made it easy for you to send an email, by clicking on the big red button {above right).
Please edit the draft email text to say what you your really think, including local examples of where you have seen koalas in your local area.
Koala habitat mapping ignores where they actually live
The scale of the problem can be seen in the double image above.
The top map shows (in blue) where koalas have been sighted. It is based on sighting reports to the Atlas of Living Australia by Koala Action Group members and other members of the community.
The bottom map of the same area shows the State Government’s draft koala habitat mapping in green.
Any areas mapped in blue but not green is a place where koalas want to live but where they won’t get any habitat protection. This includes parks and foreshore areas near Toondah Harbour as well as other open space areas where koalas are observed frequently.
Link to the Government’s koala habitat mapping
If you wish to access the government’s mapping on-line go to this webpage and follow the instructions carefully.