Hello Koala Lovers,
It is a while since I wrote to you. I had a few weeks off to clear my head and now as we approach the end of another year of Koalas not being truly protected as I would like, I have taken the time to consider how the AKF is going to approach 2024. You will hear more about that over the coming months, but I assure you, we have some great ideas to make our political leaders stand up and be counted.
The Koala is currently listed as Endangered in Queensland, New South Wales and the ACT. They are not listed in South Australia or Victoria. Western Australia and the Northern Territory do not have Koalas that live in the wild.
The Federal law that listed the Koala is the EPBC Act. It was reviewed a few years ago (the Samuel’s Review) and that review determined it to be ineffective. I understand the current Minister for the Environment (Minister Plibersek) has asked 30 groups to evaluate new changes to the EPBC Act and I have written to her department to ask that the AKF and our legal advisors are involved in that assessment. I suspect we will not be. Why, is the next question to ask. In my view, and because the Minister does have a copy of the Koala Protection Act, she will realise that we will have faith in nothing less than a piece of legislation totally dedicated to the Koala.
Why has the AKF taken this strong stance even though it might seem impossible at first glance? Because day in and day out, on our social media, in our emails and in letters from desperate people all over the country you can see that Koala habitat is going down faster now than I have ever seen it go down before.
Laws are changing, making it more dangerous for those fabulous young ones who sit in trees and protest. I saw one young woman recently released after three months in gaol.
I notice too a former diplomat is on a hunger strike calling for our Governments to secure a future for his children and I felt so sorry that our Governments on one hand seem to be saying that they are worried about the future of the planet but still seem to be pandering to big business, who in my view absolutely have too much access to our law makers.
I saw too, an independent politician wanting a review of how lobbyists are regulated and from what I could see from her brief X interview, they just wander the halls of Parliament House at will, given many of them are either former staffers or even politicians from the past.
As you know, the AKF wants a Koala Whisperer next year; which is a nice word for a lobbyist to argue the case for the Koala Protection Act. But I am pretty sure this lawyer will be under all sorts of constraints and would certainly not be allowed to just wander around hoping to be heard. Different rules for different sides of the debate.
If that is the case and we would be gagged in some way, then at least I will have a legal mind in the office to help me understand why and how so much habitat is going down, because surely a lot of it is not legal; it just happens, often out of sight.
Remember too, the number of creatures great and small that live in 20% of the Australian forests that are known habitat for the Koalas. Protecting those forests will save thousands of other species, so in my view it is a no brainer.
Another email a few months ago asked me why the Koala Protection Act has not been enacted and that question can only be answered by Minister Plibersek. She has the power to table it, get it passed and then hopefully the forests will have a chance. Write to her and ask why she does not support the Koala Protection Act?
Fond regards and thank you as always for your support.
Deborah
Read the AKF’s latest Press Release
