Holding the line - reversing biodiversity decline

We have just received the Holding the Line report, showing Koalas face an existential threat from urban sprawl and greenfield development in South East Queensland.

South East Queensland is an ecological treasure trove of rainforests, bushland, and internationally-listed wetlands and iconic species like the koala.

Our current planning framework is still not protecting this critical habitat. And right now the State Government is updating a key part of this, the ShapingSEQ Regional Plan.

This SEQ Plan update includes steps in the right direction, including core Koala Habitat for the first time, and reducing the focus on new urban sprawl, from 40% of new dwellings down to 30%.

But more needs to be done. Our report shows that if we continue with "business as usual" over the coming years SEQ will fall below the 'bare minimum' international benchmark of 30% bushland coverage.

The way we allow development now is like a shotgun blast across the landscape, the slow death of habitat by a thousand cuts.

Critical habitats get cleared bit by bit for new developments. Then newer infrastructure and bigger roads get put in, carving it up into smaller and more fragmented pieces. Many species can't survive in these increasingly small, isolated pockets of green space.