DEAR News Of The Area,

MUCH has been made in Australia of the plight of one of its iconic animals, the koala.

While we fully support the protection of Australian native flora and fauna, we do not support the current process of political activists misrepresenting our native environment to promote hidden agendas that are not in our national interest.

The current process of emotional political activism to raise funds worldwide for an apparently at-risk species can be labelled a form of emotional fraud, using misinformation and selected data.

Most of this does not rely on fact or science.

The koala is now portrayed in the media as being critically endangered and may be extinct by 2050 if current land clearing and native forestry harvesting practices continue.

This view is pushed by conservationists and extremists using a questionable Government report (NSW Legislative Council Portfolio Committee No 7 Report June 2020 – finding number 2 page 12) that reported koalas would be extinct by 2050 if something was not done.

This is now seen to be based on opinion rather than expert scientific data.

Conveniently there is no mention of numerous subsequent science-based credible research findings from field data that factually indicate koala populations are healthy and growing:

1. The most recent CSIRO findings indicate koala numbers have multiplied at least 10 times in the last 12 years (CSIRO – National Koala Monitoring Program 15 April 2024 Update).

2. The NSW Department of Primary Industry recent findings show koala population growth and forestry selective harvesting can and do co-exist (Dr Brad Law – Forest Science Research NSW Forest Monitoring & Impairment Program Published May 2022 updated and Published May 2024).

3. Previous findings by the Natural Resources Commission reveal harvesting in native state forests has no negative impact on koala populations (NRC Research Report Updated Dec 2022 Koala Response to Timber Industry).

4. Recent reports provided to the proposed Great Koala Park enquiry indicate more than 12,000 koalas exist in the native forest area being considered for the park, which has been managed and harvested for more than 200 years.

The most recent study indicates around 12,000 healthy koalas live in the 175,000 hectares being considered for the Great Koala National Park (GKNP).

If koalas are thriving in this environment managed by forestry for over 200 years, why make it a National Park fraught with all the dangers of megafires, unmanaged undergrowth and fuel build ups just waiting to explode?

Let’s not destroy a $2.9 billion sustainable industry in NSW that employs up to 22,000 people in regional communities, increase the cost of housing, make us more reliant on imports from unregulated countries (now exceeding $5 billion), and place this country at the mercy of non-carbon friendly alternative products such as steel, concrete and plastic.

The misinformation about the koalas’ plight is concealing these facts!

Regards,
Noel ATKINS,
Director,
REEF Research Foundation.