On 17 November 2010 the Senate Standing Committee on Environment and Communications was asked to conduct the Inquiry into the status, health and sustainability of Australia's koala population which is scheduled to report in June 2011.
Submissions have now closed with only 69 received and they hint at widely divergent positions bordering on the combative in some instances:
Koala Research Centre of Central Queensland
The status of the koala is uncertain, nationally. Local and regional populations are declining. There is not adequate data to address the IUCN criteria in any consideration of the formal status of the koala. Delaying any reclassification until data meets IUCN criteria produces a crisis driven response with limited capacity to recover the species. A proactive approach from the Commonwealth is recommended including: a move away from the IUCN criterion based assessment of the koala's status, proactive implementation of the actions of the national koala strategy within the Commonwealth's sphere of influence, Commonwealth resourcing of research and community organizations pursuing the objectives of the national koala strategy, support for the establishment of a network of koala sentinel sites monitoring trends in population and habitat status. A strategic review of the approach to managing the koala and its habitat is required taking account of the distinctly different needs in (a) the over abundant, genetically depauperate race of the koala in South Australia and Victoria, (b) the expanding urban and industrial footprint in predominantly coastal eastern Australia, and (c) the rural and regional western and northern habitats affected by climate extremes, fire and drought.
Board Member, NSW Northern Rivers Catchment Management Authority
When questioned about this practice recently, DECCW’s Director of Landscapes and Ecosystem Management Tom Grosskopf commented in the local newspaper (Advocate 29 Dec. 2010) that “the Coffs Harbour (Koala) Plan of Management did not fall under the NSW environmental planning policy but rather the council had its own detailed plan and had written themselves out of the state plan.”
Far from writing itself out of the state plan, between 1996 and 2000, Coffs Harbour City Council(CHCC) undertook the preparation of a comprehensive Koala Plan of Management (KPoM)according to NSW State Government guidelines: “Procedures for Preparing Comprehensive Koala Plans of Management under State Environmental Planning Policy 1995 (SEPP) No.44-Koala Habitat Protection.
Ms Paulette Oldfield
A development was approved by my local council in Daisy Hill, Qld, 2007 which sat in the middle of prime habitat. http://thesanctuarydaisyhill.com/index.html (See attached articles) Over 5000 residents voiced their disapproval of this decision but the council ignored their constituents and forged ahead. Illegal clearing then occurred on this site with the developer NOT being held accountable or forced to pay any recompense (RIX Developments, Gold Coast). Rix Development also did not follow council orders with regards to spotter/catcher resources on site at the time of clearing. Again, nothing was done about this. A bulldozer waited until a Koala came out of the tree before the bulldozer knocked it down. This tree was over 80 years old. The Koala had nowhere to go.
Rix Developments
Firstly thank you for forwarding the comments in relation to our development at Daisy Hill, Queensland and the opportunity to reply. The information supplied by the submitter is grossly inaccurate and misleading.
Name Withheld
Lord Mayor and Councillors, my name is <?> and I am not a Greenie. I am also not an Activist. Up until now you could probably have described me as one of the masses. Up until now I would have been quite happy to mind my own business, raising my family in quiet peace in the suburbs of Brisbane.This all changed for me about six months ago when a newly created company gained approval from Brisbane City Council to develop the parcel of land on the up hill slopes adjacent to my home.
Property Council of Australia
The Property Council is strongly opposed to the continuation of the listing of endangered species on a jurisdictional basis. This is in part due to the fragmented review of endangered flora and fauna which fails to deliver a national snapshot of the sustainability and health of these species.
Urban Development Institute of Australia
UDIA (Qld) does not make claims as to present Koala population numbers or other scientific aspects. We do however seek that any decision is made on sound scientific information. It is clear to us, that at least in Queensland, issues around Koala population protection are very substantially affected by emotional or other views based on values which can lead to incorrect outcomes. It is critical that this hyperbole is stripped away and true scientific measures utilised.
National Association of Forest Industries
In addition, the relative scale of activity and landscape connectivity of ‘managed’ and formal conservation reserves (e.g. national parks) should be taken into account at a landscape level. The sustainable harvesting of forests represents less than one per cent annually of the forest estate potentially available for wood production in any one year (in all states and territories) and may enhance the habitat for a range of species through the provision of a diversity of mixed age classes, forest structure and food resources across the landscape.
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