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POUCH

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05.01.2022 THE QUEENSLAND DRAFT KOALA STRATEGY- BETTER KNOWN AS THE 2020 VERSION OF. GROUND HOG DAY It’s truly painful to have to go to Queensland government meetings to ...consider their ongoing, never-ending efforts to persuade the increasingly concerned public that they are actually doing something serious about saving South East Queensland koalas. Basically, all you need to know is that since 1998, Federal and NSW, Queensland governments have brought in regulations, strategies, advisory expert panels, studies, conferences, policies, recommendations, research, planning changes, all resulting in one primary recommendation habitat protection. Last year an invitation only round table was organised by the government to examine threats to koalas. Habitat loss was definitely OFF the agenda and the meeting would only deal with threats that focused on dogs, vehicle strike and community participation. KC voiced serious opposition as did most of the participants. A walk out would have been a much better statement. But groups are far too polite these days to take such action. But this article is about the latest meeting to discuss the latest draft koala strategy in the works now for close to two years. The draft is tiresome, boring, complicated, mind numbing, total unadulterated garbage. In a flash of insight ( and an effort to stay awake as the bureaucrat trotted out the same old stuff ), KC understood the Queensland government tactics on how to ensure koala extinction so SEQ . First off you put out a draft document with an unreasonable deadline for submissions, and ensure that there’s lots of errors and issues of conflict within the draft. This then ensures complaints about the deadline, lots of focus on errors, conflicts, endless discussions, undertakings un-met, documents mysteriously unavailable and blah blah just goes on like a merry go round. Maps that are incorrect, ignore public protests and concerns. Ignore bushfire and drought. Climate change continues as a no no. The other option is you manage to push through a really shoddy strategy which has enough loopholes for a Boeing 737 to get through and you pass that in Parliament, proudly displaying your koala conservation credentials. In both cases the koala loses. So the Palaczszuk government has set up yet another 100% no win situation for the koalas. Instead, participants sit at a long conference table, smart phones in hand linked to a screen showing a key question which you answer by ticking one of four or five options on your smart phone screen. Then you get asked how to put the most popular response into action. Sigh.. It’s called tick a box and there’s no prizes. In December 2018, the Queensland government appointed yet another effort, the Koala Advisory council to work collaboratively to develop the latest draft SEQ Queensland Koala Conservation Strategy 2019-2024. The same group, chaired by the former CEO of the good old RSPCA, was charged with helping deliver the new koala strategy and overseeing its implementation. One only NGO on the Council, the Wilderness Society whose representative doesn’t provide any information or feedback. Although the initial statement by the Chair focused on the critical importance of habitat protection, this was soon replaced with the usual nonsensical focus ensuring nothing would change. The Council was provided with the draft strategy in July. Yet it wasn’t released to the public until December. KC has been requesting the minutes of the September Council meeting which the government continues to refuse to provide to the public. The excuse ? We have to circulate to the Council members to see if they agree with the minutes. C’mon. Four months later and still no minutes ? Straight out political interference. The reality ? In spite of KC pointing out in no uncertain terms at the latest meeting farce that Australia was being described as the Chernobyl of climate change, that the environmental losses were catastrophic and the draft should be shelved until the extent of damage by bushfires and drought is known no, the show must go on. The bureaucrat leading the meeting asked what are the major threats facing koalas KC replied, politicians And that’s the truth. They are killing off the koala, their ecosystems and countless species of wildlife because of their refusal to legally protect our life support systems. The plan for SEQ is for approximately 75,000 new residents each year and the region’s population will grow from 3.5 million to 5.3 million over the next 25 years. It’s anticipated there will be 30,000 new residences each year and.. wait for it.. one million new jobs. . Blind Freddy knows that this level of growth ensures there will be no koalas left in SEQ in spite of the grandiose statements by Palaczszuk that her government is reserving 300,000 hectares of core koala habitat. In fact the mapping is a mess. The planning regulations which must be drastically changed to ensure local Councils ( like the Gold Cost) can tear up prime koala habitat for development are not available. The entire process is just another total fiasco. The public is given until January 31st to make submissions which will be irrelevant to this dreadful government, hell bent on growth at any coast. It is insanity to allow the growth of another 2 million people in SEQ. To suggest that the public is so stupid that we can’t add up the cost to koalas, wildlife and ecosystems is a measure of the contempt politicians and governments have for the public. Please continue to support KoalaCrisis as we dig into the scandals which follow the dreadful bushfires and their horrific toll. People are very focused on trying to save remaining animals who are dreadfully injured. But the future survival of koalas and our wildlife utterly depend on forcing the governments to protect remaining populations. Donations can be made to: www.givenow.com.au/koalacrisis KC can assure the public that the wildlife shelters and hospitals have gained mega dollars as the public has been so appalled and moved by the plight of our wildlife. But the governments are hell bent on pursuing growth at any cost. There’s no sign of any moratoriums on developments, logging, mining, or growth. KC will be writing a further article on NSW debacle in the weekend as the Berejiklian government prepares to sell out Gunnedah koalas to a Chinee mining company. These are crimes against Nature. Every single koala remaining is a living genetic treasure. So too are every single kangaroo, wallaby, wombat, echidna, glider, so many species of birds, flying foxes the list is long indeed. We now have a very angry public and the politicians need to feel the heat. KC is in dialogue, again, with lawyers as we seek a way to force change.