Koala Woman Says
The Strathbogies (half of which is in this electorate) have been a public relations nightmare for the Koala. At one time, the Victorian Government argued there were 180,000 koalas there, which is impossible given the size and quality of the habitat. If you drive through that forest it is highly fragmented, filled with pine plantations, and in the year 2000 Koalas suffered massive decline in a bushfire. AKF scientists have been conservative here given the amount of bush. I have driven through this area repeatedly and there cannot be 35,000 animals there. Elsewhere there are Koalas in the Chiltern Hills near Beechworth, and scattered populations near Benalla and between Mansfield and Yea. In the whole electorate there are only 50 records between 2010-2019, so either the population has crashed, or there can never have been that many Koalas.
Member for Indi
Will she Act or Axe?
Koala Numbers
Estimated AKF Koala Population: 2500 – 3000
Estimated Koala Habitat left: 65.6%
Estimated Federal Government Population: 20,000 – 35,000
The Victorian Government opposed the protection of the koala and there is no Federal protective legislation in place.