THE state government has announced $40 million in funding to help protect threatened species, including koalas.
“We can save our iconic native species,” Queensland Conservation Council director Dave Copeman said.
“We know it will take funding and research, and strong laws to protect habitat from clearing, logging and development.
“We were disappointed beyond words at the news that the outgoing Federal Minister Sussan Ley abolished 176 Recovery Plans for threatened species and habitats as one of her last acts as a Minister. It seems she’d just given up on preventing the all too common march to extinction.
“Australia regrettably leads the world in mammalian extinctions. We have lost more than 10% of our mammal species since 1788.
The new Federal Environment Minister, Tanya Plibersek should review this decision, and recommit to the recovery to healthy populations for all threatened species in Australia, Mr Copeman said.
“Queensland has the highest number of threatened species in Australia, and they face the greatest extent of habitat destruction in the country, principally through shocking rates of land clearing,” he said.
The $24.6m in funding for the koala is an essential continuation of the SEQ Koala Conservation Strategy that QCC and others fought for.
Regrettably, since the strategy was introduced, the koala has been listed as endangered in February this year.
Koalas are at risk of extinction, principally due to habitat loss. Disease, car strikes and dog attacks are also injuring and killing koalas far too often.
“Thousands of Queenslanders demanded the SEQ Koala Conservation Strategy be introduced, and we are reassured that this funding continues to deliver on its goal of increasing koala populations over the long term,” Mr Copeman said.
“Now we must extend the strategy beyond south east Queensland.
“We lost more than 80,000 hectares of likely Koala habitat in 18/19 alone in the most recent SLAT report, the koala needs a statewide conservation strategy.”
