The Senate Committee’s surprise at the complexity surrounding the status, health and sustainability of Australia’s koalas and at the level of community commitment and passion that is invested in koalas may serve as a wake-up call for Minister Burke.
Over 70 per cent of submissions received were from community-based koala conservation groups and from interested individuals; many of them voluntary licensed carers working at the pointy-end of koala conservation.
The public galleries at each of the Committee’s three public hearings were full and the Committee extended its reporting timeframe on four occasions. The deep-felt concerns of the Australian community about the Koala’s survival have at last had a fair hearing and have been found valid.
Minister Burke, NSW’s 4500 licensed wildlife carers call on you to list the Koala as Vulnerable under the EPBC Act in areas where numbers have significantly declined.
Lorraine Vass
Chair, NSW Wildlife Council Inc
