Australia's 'revolutionary' plan to save koalas under proposed new laws

10 Jul, 2022 10:34 PM3 minutes to read

Koala at Rainforestation Nature Park.

news.com.au

By Catie McLeod

Koalas would be given the highest level of protection of any animal species in Australian history under an "unassailable" new law being proposed.

The Australian Koala Foundation is pushing for a federal "Koala Protection Act" that would place caveats on land clearing and other damaging activities across all the habitat areas of the much-loved species.

Up to 1.5 million square kilometres of forest, or 20 per cent of the Australian continent, would be protected under the plan hatched by the lobby group.

The foundation has sent its draft bill to new Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek, who has been contacted for comment.

The Morrison Government earlier this year accepted scientific advice to declare koalas were endangered in Queensland, NSW and the ACT after a decline in numbers due to land clearing and bushfires.

Furry friends at Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. Photo / Tourism and Events Queensland

The Australian Koala Foundation is concerned that koalas are not similarly marked endangered in South Australia and Victoria.

It has also pointed out that the federal recovery plan for koalas is yet to be enacted a decade after the species was first listed as "vulnerable".

The foundation's chairwoman Deborah Tabart says Australia's environmental laws do not have enough vision for the future and "protecting whole landscapes is essential".

"The koala and thousands of other species that live in those forests need the Koala Protection Act – it's already drafted and only requires the minister's signature," she said.

"This single piece of revolutionary legislation will protect koalas and koala habitat by guaranteeing that development and new infrastructure is designed to ensure a benign impact on their habitat."

Tabart said it made economic sense to protect koalas, given forestry was a "dying industry" and tourism a sustainable one.

She estimates the Government would save $3bn by protecting koala forests as they are also home to other vulnerable species that require costly recovery plans.

Tabart said this was the "exact amount" that koalas brought in tourism dollars per year.

Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek will next week address the National Press Club on the state of the Australian environment. Photo / news.com

The foundation's plea comes ahead of Plibersek's first major speech since she was sworn into the environment and water portfolios.

She will on July 19 address the National Press Club in Canberra on the findings of an official five-yearly scientific assessment of Australia's natural environment.

The report, which the former Coalition Government received last year but didn't release, is expected to be damning.

Plibersek is expected to respond to an official review of Australia's main environmental law – the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC).

The EPBC review was carried out by former consumer watchdog chief Graeme Samuel in the previous term of parliament.

He made 38 recommendations after finding the EPBC Act was failing both the environment and developers and contributing to the unsustainable decline of Australia's habitats.