What is it about Tweed Shire Mayors? Do they develop some kind of compassion bypass, once they once they take on the mayoral role? At last Thursday’s council meeting, Barry Longland’s vote to allow dogs in Kings Forest put yet another nail in the koala’s coffin. This is disgraceful when, for the very first time, there was a chance for council to actually do something practical to aid the survival of the Tweed Coast koalas.
I would like to know why Barry Longland did not support the motion for ‘No dogs’ at King’s Forest when it was supported by Gary, Katie and Michael. The mayor should hang his head in shame over this. Does he want to go down in local history as the ‘koala killer’?
Koala Beach at Pottsville already proves that a ‘dog-free’ development is do-able. Residents in such developments enjoy the added quietness of the estate, along with the benefits of sharing this environment with koalas and other wildlife. Sadly though, as koalas are forced to share backyards with dogs, statistics show that as a many as one hundred Gold Coast and Tweed Shire koalas are killed by domestic dogs every year. Think on that, Mr Longland.
Chris Degenhardt
Murwillumbah
