Koala Woman Says

This electorate stretches from Ballina north to Tweed Heads. North of the Tweed River there is a small Koala population between Dungay and Terranora, perhaps 100 in number. Around Pottsville there is another population which is at great risk because of the 4,500-lot Kings Forest development. Why can’t this development be planned the same way as the nearby Koala Beach which was planned to accommodate Koalas as well as humans? Because it was approved by then Minister Hunt under the EPBC Act. We need stronger national laws to protect Koalas, and the Koala Protection Act will do just that.

Tweed Shire was one of the first Councils to implement a Comprehensive Koala Plan of Management (CKPoM) adopted by Council in 2015 and finally approved by the NSW Government in 2021? Why the delay? Because, by then, the NSW Government had decided that State Environmental Planning Policy 44 (SEPP44) on which the CKPoM was based, needed a review. This review has not been done. The result is that there are no new CKPoMs in NSW, only “strategies” with no legislative power. How can this save Koalas from development when there are only suggestions? Koalas don’t need suggestions; they need the Koala Protection Act.

Anyway, back to the numbers. There are Koalas between Goonengerry and Bangalow, where a community group has planted over 400,000 Koala food trees. An amazing achievement with little government support. There are some Koalas south of Byron Bay towards Broken Head. All these Koala populations need the sort of habitat connectivity provided by revegetating our landscape, but, above all, we need to protect what is left.

The completed Pacific Highway upgrades are yet another threat, as well as habitat loss there is reduced connection between coastal and hinterland Koalas, reducing genetic diversity and recruitment.

All Shires in this region need to work together for a common outcome – more Koalas. Koala Plans should be Shire-wide, not just in coastal areas capable of housing development.

Will she Act or Axe?