Logan and Albert Conservation Association
New koala planning provisions will be introduced in December 2009 and comprise: New koala conservation state planning regulatory provisions: the Proposed South East Queensland Koala Conservation State Planning Regulatory Provision ( 746 KB 38p) and proposed koala habitat mapping that will regulate new development in koala habitat areas. You can access the several area maps from this dip page http://www.dip.qld.gov.au/maps/seq-koala-habit-regulatory-maps.html
Map 24 http://www.dip.qld.gov.au/resources/map/koala-regs/koala-sprp-maps-24.pdf does not show any koala habitat in the Flagstone area? Difficult to believe - if you see all the surrounding habitat? http://www.dip.qld.gov.au/resources/map/koala-regs/proposed-seq-koala-conservation-seqkc-map-24.pdf
It is always the right time to write to our elected representatives to tell them how you feel about an issue you care about.
There are many 'things' happening locally, nationally and globally of concern to those of us who understand how important it is to conserve and enhance all existing biodiversity to protect the wellbeing of future generations - as well as us now.
The longterm survival of the iconic koala in south east Queensland is one that is swinging towards extinction. It is difficult to imagine south east Queensland
without koalas in their natural bushland state.The fate of our koala now rests with the federal governments 'scientific committee'. Concerned groups have been monitoring and reporting for years. The results of the recent RSPCA - LACA phone in is available here at http://www.rspcaqld.org.au/wildlife/
RSPCA Qld's Wildlife Department and LACA praise Queenslanders who took part in the October 2009 Koala Count. However Wildlife Coordinator Janet Gamble said the numbers of koalas spotted were disappointing and proved that we should have very real concerns for the animal's future.
 Our Koalas Need You! On 10 November 2009, scientists from around Australia will meet to decide on the Australian Koala Foundation's nomination of the koala as ‘vulnerable' under the EPBC Act, Australia's threatened species legislation. If the Koala is protected then it will mean that all developments in koala habitat will have federal oversight, something that hasn't happened since white settlement 200 years ago. So what can you do? We ask that you write to: |
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Monday 23 November 2009 British online edition of The Guardian reported on the ongoing battle being fought for many years to protect Australia's iconic koala by the koala campaigners from the Australian Koala Foundation, scientists, conservation and wildlife care groups and concerned citizens . Journalist Gideon Haigh presented the situation.
Tuesday 10 November 2009 in Canberra, representatives of the Australian Koala Foundation (AKF) took a long and determined campaign for better protection of the creature to the government's "threatened species scientific committee", following a request for a review of the animal's status by environment minister Peter Garrett. The foundation presented what they say is definitive evidence of a sharp decline in koala numbers due to habitat destruction and disease. Its message was stark: the koala would be extinct "within 30 years". Hits on its website instantly doubled, and concerns were expressed about the impact on Australia's tourist industry: polls consistently show the koala to be the country's most popular animal with visitors.
Keep your eyes open for koalas on Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th October.
In an effort to get an up to date picture of koala distribution and also to raise awareness of koalas in urban areas the survey is principally targeting Beaudesert, Boonah, Brisbane, Esk, Gatton, Gold Coast, Ipswich, Logan and Toowoomba. However LACA and RSPCA Qld would like to hear about any koala sightings throughout the State.
"It's important for us to get an accurate idea of numbers so that we can monitor if there's a growth or decline," said RSPCA Queensland's Wildlife Coordinator Janet Gamble. "As our population grows we're pushing further and further into their habitat."
This habitat destruction means koalas have to travel on the ground as they hunt for suitable eucalyptus leaves or mates. They then face the additional threats of motor vehicles, dogs, road barriers and fences, all of which have an impact on their lives. However Ms Gamble said the situation was not total gloom and doom. "I believe we can live together. All we need to do is show a little common sense consideration and compromise." Said Janet Gamble
Ms Anne Page, President of the Logan and Albert Conservation Association who have joined with the RSPCA to organise the census, said "We have very little information on where koala are, particularly in the south west and this a great opportunity for anyone to help koala conservation by simply going out into their backyard or nearby bush and looking and listening and letting us know if they see any koala."
The census is an ideal opportunity for all Queenslanders to participate in a vital conservation project. People are asked to phone in their koala sightings (dead or alive) to 1300 ANIMAL (1300 264 625) or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Koala Phone In
When: Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th October.
Where: Throughout Queensland, but principally targeting
Beaudesert, Boonah, Brisbane, Esk, Gatton, Gold Coast, Ipswich, Logan, Maroochy and Toowoomba.
Phone: 1300 ANIMAL ( 1300 264 625) or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Can you imagine our country without koalas? Well incredibly for the first time in our history, the future is dire for one of our national icons - film from Today Tonight can be accessed from this page. Scroll down to view the story. Business as usual urban development where trees are cleared causes stress and stress induced disease chlamydia follows with dire consequences.
September is Save the Koala Month!
Can we take action to SAVE THE KOALA IN SOUTH EAST QUEENSLAND?
WHAT WILL YOU DO TO HELP PROTECT ESSENTIAL KOALA HABITAT?
Talk to your politicians at all levels and tell them you value the koala more than built infrastructure designed only for an ever growing and demanding human population
KOALAS OR COAL IN SEQ?
KOALAS OR HUMAN SETTLEMENT?
Have you heard about the Southern Freight Rail Corridor - cutting through pristine bushland with a population of healthy koalas? This area was NOT MAPPED for the koala SPP - state planning policy.
Is coal for future energy at the cost of koalas what we want?
AKF RALLY 11 AM FRIDAY 25 SEPTEMBER 2009 IN BRISBANE
Brisbane Square, Brisbane City
Save the Koala Day
Bring along as many people as possible to help us secure the future of the Koala
Watch this video - a collection of Koalas - Koalas in the Wild - Koalas in Zoos Will Zoos be the only place we can see them soon?
and Koala images from different locations across Australia from various sources.
The "Save Our Koalas Rally" will be held in Brisbane on 25th September, please email: wildlife2save-at-live.com.au for more information or please give up just one day to come and show your support for the most iconic of Australians. The Koala. Thankyou to everyone who captured these brilliant images of Koalas. Together, united, we can make a difference!
Too late to protect koalas: lobbyist
Headlines from DARREN CARTWRIGHT's coverage in The Age newspaper reports on the current koala situation in SOUTH EAST QEENSLAND for September 1, 2009
The Queensland government's new measures to prevent koalas dying out southeast of Brisbane are too little, too late, says Australian Koala Foundation boss Deb Tabart.
Ms Tabart said it has been predicted that by next year no koalas will inhabit the Koala Coast region, which is 375 square kilometres of land starting 20km southeast of Brisbane.
The state government has already acknowledged the dire situation of koalas in the region in a 2008 report, Decline of the Koala Coast Koala Population.
Ms Tabart on Tuesday said Premier Anna Bligh wrote to her this week outlining a new conservation policy for 2009 to prevent any further decline in koala numbers, which have plummeted from more than 6,000 between 1996-99 to just over 2,000 in 2008.
"It won't do anything. It's just delusion on their part," Ms Tabart told AAP, referring to the new policy.
"The only thing that will stop koalas dying is to stop cutting trees. It's as simple as that.
The article by Brian Williams in the Courier Mail for 29 May 2009 is sobering reading. It also provides an opportunity for any concerned resident to comment with information of their own experiences.
Click on the following text to make your observations or comment. Have your say: Have you noticed a decline in koala numbers?
Call to list koalas as vulnerable relates the plight of the iconic koala whose habitat has been eroded by clearing for development.
Read the article, submit your comment and please consider sending a letter to Sustainability Minister Kate Jones, Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett and Queensland Premier Anna Bligh.
CONSERVATIONISTS have applied for southeast Queensland koalas to be listed as vulnerable.
If listed under federal laws, the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act will kick in, forcing anyone clearing land in koala habitat to ensure it does not affect the animal's prospects for survival. The report just released by Sustainability Minister Kate Jones last week confirmed that koala numbers had declined by 64 per cent in the past decade.
Although Queensland government will say it is taking adequate measures to protect and ensure the survival of koalas in South East Queensland concerned Redlands council and residents are questioning the validity of those measures and have a petition - endorsed by State MP Michael Choi (as the process requires) which now appears on the government website. All residents of Queensland are able to support the petition to take steps to prevent koala extinction in South East Queensland.
Koalas have been disappearing from the Redlands Koala Coast area at the rate of 1000 per year and only about 2400 koalas remain. Council, the community and the state government need to work together to stop the inevitable extinction if current land clearing practices continue.
The petition asks parliament to
The petition is available here and closes 30 July 2009.
Media Release
Monday, August 17, 2009
SOUTH EAST QUEENSLAND KOALA ALLIANCE FORMED
TO FIGHT DEVELOPER INFLUENCE
Representatives from key community organisations across South East Queensland met today at Griffith University to form an alliance with one key purpose - to save the koala and with it, our South East Queensland quality of life.
From the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Ipswich, Logan, Caboolture, Redlands, Scenic Rim and Brisbane groups repeatedly gave the same stories of how the State Government's South East Queensland Regional Plan is eradicating the koala and systematically destroying the environment and values that make South East Queensland such a special place.
"Today clearly confirmed that the State Government's SEQ Regional Plan is the blunt instrument which is killing off the koala all across South East Queensland. The Regional Plan and the Infrastructure Plan serve the interests of the development industry, not the community and certainly not the koala. The words and maps in the Plan reflect Government denial of the serious plight of the Koala," said Ted Fensom of the Brisbane Region Environment Council (BREC)
Wayne Cameron of Bulimba Creek Coordinating Catchment Committee Inc. (B4C) agrees: "The koala is the canary in the coal mine. Its spiralling numbers and potential local extinction are a direct consequence of the development which is overwhelming the environment and diminishing quality of life across South East Queensland."
Simon Baltais of the Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland (WPSQ) added: "There is not a day goes by in SEQ that a community group cannot point to a development outcome that ignores the science and the community yet seemingly favours the developer."
"We all know that ‘he who pays the piper call the tune' and so one of the key objectives of the Alliance is to break the nexus between developer donations and political influence. The Alliance will be pushing for a Royal Commission into developer-funded electoral campaigns and seeking to ensure that this hijacking of democracy is brought to an end in Queensland," said Simon Baltais.
Lavinia Wood of the Community Alliance for Responsible Planning (CARP) Redland Inc. agreed, adding "The SEQ Regional Plan is the product of a pro-growth agenda delivering short-term financial advantage to developers, but long-term disadvantage and harm to the people and wildlife of South East Queensland. Clearly the Regional Plan must be amended immediately to prevent this from happening."
David Stephen of FAIR GO Committee who is dealing with the Southern Freight Rail Corridor through key koala habitat said,
"It's fantastic to see city and rural folk working together to save the koala and our children's future."
Lynn Roberts of the Koala Action Group & Eprapah Creek Catchment Landcare Association Inc. (ECCLA) summed up the value of the Alliance, "Today was inspiring - the community coming together to take on a David and Goliath battle, groups setting aside any differences to rescue SEQ from developer-driven planning. This is all about putting the decisions about the future back in the hands of the people."
Contacts:
Lavinia Wood - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Simon Baltais - Mobile: 0447 539 968
The state government is proposing a number of changes to the Koala Plan to address basically two broad issues - for inclusion in the SPP. Your thoughts on the government's proposed responses to these issues are needed to help government draft the SPP before it is released for public consultation later this year.
State governent has identified a number of common concerns they believe are critical to the future viability of SEQ's koala population.
These concerns can be consolidated into two broad issues
Up-to-date and accurate koala habitat maps
Stronger and more effective koala conservation measures, balanced against environmental, social and economic needs.
Share your views online. Clicking on the link to the left will take you to the page to fill in online your comments. Closing date 28 August 2009
Logan and Albert Conservation Association has been recording sightings of koalas in the former Beaudesert Shire (now Logan City Council area) for several years now.
When your children ask you,
‘What did you do to save the koala?' What will you say?
The koala is likely to become extinct in South-East Queensland unless the State government and local authorities act now.
A major cause of this devastating slide to extinction is avoidable loss of habitat: lost to
The Queensland Government has the power to make the decisions that will stop this loss.
IMPORTANT ACTION TO HELP KOALAS IN SOUTH EAST QUEENSLAND especially the Koala Coast koalas in Redlands and Logan.
The advertisement below appeared in The Australian, Courier Mail, Sydney Morning Herald, Canberra Times, The Age and the Adelaide Advertiser last Saturday 6 June 2009.
Public comment invited
Submissions close COB Wednesday 5 August 2009
National Koala Conservation and Management Strategy
People interested in the management of koalas or koala habitats are invited to have their say on the draft National Koala Conservation and Management Strategy 2009-2014.
The strategy will outline the actions required over the next five years to conserve koalas and their habitat.
Information gathered through the public comment period will be used to make further updates.
The national strategy is being developed jointly by the Commonwealth, states and territories through the Natural Resource Management Ministerial Council.
More information and a copy of the draft strategy can be found at http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/publications/koala-strategy
The koala is an important part of Australia's natural and cultural heritage. The koala is suffering declines in some parts of Australia and according to the federal government website ,management issues vary significantly from region to region. There is a clear need for a strategic approach to the conservation and management of koalas to maximise the effectiveness of conservation efforts. Koala Coast koalas are experiencing such severe threats to their survival their very continuing existance is of major concern. If current popoualion decline continues, the iconic koala in the bush will be extinct in areas of South East Queensland - from their supposed core habitat areas.
The latest report from the EPA and Courier Mail today on the 50% decline in Koala Coast koalas in the last 3 years is sobering news. The koala coast region includes the Redlands Council, east side of Logan Council and Brisbane City council. The koala population in the Koala Coast has been identified as genetically different to koalas in other parts of SE Qld which makes them even more important to protect for biodiversity values.
The Koala Coast area has had regions "protected" for the longest period of time as koala conservation areas and koala sustainability areas as part of the koala mapping that state government (EPA) has conducted in the past. The koalas of the "new Logan" Council area and Scenic Rim have not yet been mapped . Our koalas would certainly be in a worse position.
It is also important to note that the koala mapping conducted in Moreton Regional Council also confirmed that their Koala population had also declined. This news as reported on line in the Courier Mail is available here.
The Environment and Protection Agency EPA - Queensland government department - has published the findings and report from GHD on its www.epa.qld.gov.au page here.
The latest EPA report concerning the decline of the Koala Coast koalas has be provided for us.
You can access the document here.
Decline_of_the_Koala_Coast_Koala_Population_Population_Status_in_2008.pdf 301.46 Kb 24/05/2009, 14:32
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Logan Escarpment is home not only to koalas but also to a range of native species such as the powerful owl, squirrel and greater gliders, swamp wallaby and the endangered Sword-grass brown butterfly.
By expanding the network of reserves in this area, Logan Escarpment will enhance the connectivity between the Venman Bushland National Park, Daisy Hill Conservation Park and Neville Lawrie Reserve. This whole of landscape conservation network is essential to help our plants and animals deal with the pressures they face especially habitat loss and climate change.
koalas_submission_seqrp.doc 213.00 Kb 23/04/2009, 07:35 Copy of BREC submission to SEQRP. 
Koala campaigners are talking about the probable acceptance by federal government of the Australian Koala Foundation's (the AKFs) Nomination for the Koala Coast Koalas to be federally listed as endangered - with gazettal taking until September. However sobering research which some local councils are relucant to accept indicate that the tipping point has already been reached. The koalas in the Koala Coast area are genetically different and unique and their numbers are now below what ecologists believe is a sustainable population.
The urban Koala Matrix and the need to revegetate Good Quality Agricultural Land are vital components of the jigsaw to protect habitat for koalas. Koalas are disappearing out of Tanah Merah, Cornubia and Koala Coast Perimeters.
Included here is a copy of the powerpoint presentation delivered by Professor Frank Carrick from Queensland University koala research unit recently. koalas_franksmall1.pdf 545.17 Kb 13/04/2009, 12:26
If you'd like more information about Koala Population crash, Koala Taskforce Report or BREC KOALA SUBMISSION for the Regional Plan contact Ted Fensom.
More information about QU koala research team is available here.
Queensland State Government Koala task force meets 17th April 2009
What can we do?