Sue Arnold,
Australians for Animals NSW Inc.
Brunswick Heads
Koalas in NSW are in real strife. Habitat loss, dog attacks, vehicle strikes, development and climate change are driving the species to potential extinction.
The recent heatwaves and climate change are impacting eucalypt leaves, diminishing moisture and nutrition.
The vote by a simple majority of Tweed Councillors giving approval to the controversial Men’s Shed, needs to be rescinded.
Given the recent publication of the NSW Chief Scientist’s Report into the Decline of Koalas in NSW, any threat to the remaining populations should be prevented.
In April last year, the NSW Scientific Committee found that the population of the Koala from the Tweed to Brunswick Rivers was eligible to be listed as an Endangered population. In the opinion of the Scientific Committee ( to use their own words), “ it is facing a very high risk of extinction in NSW in the new future.”
The Committee found that within the Tweed local government area over 44% of the original vegetation cover has been removed or heavily disturbed. The estimated total number of mature individuals remaining between Tweed and Brunswick Rivers is considered to be low, with the total number estimated to be 144 individuals.
Habitat loss and fragmentation have the potential to further impede dispersal and recruitment with increased risks of vehicle strike and domestic dog attack.
It’s incomprehensible that Tweed Council would contemplate an approval of any development which threatens Koala survival given the endangered status of Koalas under the Threatened Species Act.
Under the Act, if the Chief Executive can determine that an action proposed by an applicant for a licence that is likely to significantly affect threatened species, populations or ecological communities, or their habitats, he/she must notify the applicant if the application is to proceed that a species impact statement must be prepared and provided. ( section 7.l of the Act).
If this approval, which threatens the survival of a listed endangered species is not rescinded, then any Government strategy to arrest the decline of koalas will be meaningless.
Koalas on the North Coast are under siege and if we are to ensure their survival, Councils must adopt responsible policies which ensure non approval for any actions likely impact the species.
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