Koalas need more from LNP, wildlife hospital data reveals

The state’s peak environmental body has called for the LNP to outline their plan to protect koalas beyond wildlife hospitals, with newly released research showing almost 75% of koalas admitted to such facilities don't survive.

With a Queensland state election just days away, time is running out for the LNP to outline their plan to ensure koalas and other wildlife are protected and that our world class eco-tourism can continue ahead of the 2032 Olympics.

The LNP’s commitment to increase funding for a handful of wildlife hospitals will do very little to save the iconic species, with University of Queensland research showing that only 27% of koalas admitted are released back into the wild.

Queensland Conservation Council Nature Campaigner Natalie Frost said:

The sad truth is that when it comes to koalas, wildlife hospitals are more like palliative care than a trip to the GP.

Research from the University of Queensland shows the most common outcome for koalas going into wildlife hospitals is euthanasia, with almost 75% of koala admissions ending in euthanasia.

Wildlife hospitals are incredibly important, but they won’t save koalas alone. They are just a bandaid, while the real problem goes unaddressed. 

Habitat loss is the single greatest cause driving koalas towards extinction, leading to dog attacks, car strikes and disease caused by stress.

Without urgent, decisive policies to protect and restore habitat, and reconnect fragmented landscapes, koalas are on a fast track to extinction. 

Under the former LNP government deforestation rates doubled, leading to more than 500,000 hectares bulldozed in just one term of government and a doubling of koala deaths. 

In our election survey, we asked all parties if they supported the Queensland Government’s  Koala Protection Strategy that QCC campaigned for and won in 2020, which identifies core koala habitat and protects it from development. 

The LNP didn’t answer this question in their response, so we are still in the dark about their plans to protect Queensland’s most iconic species.

Queensland Conservation Council’s plan for stronger koala protection includes:

1. Developing a bioregional plan for the whole of SEQ by the end of 2025 which will set out clear conservation zones to protect and restore habitat
2. Extend the Koala Protection Strategy to all Koala habitat across Queensland
3. Set a target of no new extinctions
4. Crack down on deforestation that destroys koala habitat

Community advocate Sharyn Bartlem said: 

Queensland stands at a critical crossroads, with our endangered and beloved koala population teetering on the brink of extinction.

Every locality has its own story of the daily heartbreak of losing more koalas. Community groups working on the ground across the region believe the official statistics underestimate these deaths and many go unreported.

Advocacy groups we work with report in a 6km radius of Whites Hill in Brisbane that 87 koalas have died this year already, and 100 koalas last year. In the Moreton Bay area, a local advocacy group has kept a record finding one koala is killed every two days, with 162 koalas killed there last year.

Our current planning legislation shows a troubling lack of priority for wildlife. The solution is simple — protect the habitat and trees that are left, and create wildlife corridors in and around new developments and allow for sustainably developed houses, streets and suburbs.

We can secure a thriving, sustainable future for ourselves while also ensuring that our koalas are preserved for generations to come.

Tania Bishop, WIRES Wildlife Veterinarian, said:

If we abolish the Koala Protection Strategy, we would be completely out of step with every other state government as well as the federal government, all of whom have significant commitments to active protection programs.

We have less than 1% of the original population of koalas, and at this rate we will have to explain to our grandchildren what koala’s looked like.

Wildlife vets desperately want good outcomes for koalas and other native species, that’s why we do what we do, but if the government keeps allow the destruction of habitat, we just put more pressure on the vets that are already struggling under the weight of numbers we are seeing. 

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