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Ms Kristina Keneally, MP
Premier

Level 40 Governor Macquarie Tower
1 Farrer Place
SYDNEY NSW 2000

Phone (02) 9228 5239 Fax (02) 9228 3934 thepremier@www.nsw.gov.au

 

Points to make in your letter:

Premier Keneally: Don’t kiss the last koalas goodbye

 

  1. Forests NSW plans to log a far south coast forest which is home to the last remaining koala population on the region, starting in March 2010.
  2. The South East Region Conservation Alliance (SERCA) has written to Premier Keneally asking her to intervene to stop the logging in Mumbulla State Forest. SERCA has also written to the Commonwealth Environment Minister, Peter Garrett, who has responsibility for protecting threatened species.
  3. Forests NSW has indicated that logging in Mumbulla and neighbouring Murrah State Forest will start early in March 2010.
  4. Koala numbers nationally have dramatically declined. Far south coast koala numbers have also crashed. The Australian Koala Foundation is pushing to have it listed as a threatened species and nominations have also been made for the region’s koalas under the NSW Threatened Species Conservation Act.
  5. DECC sponsored surveys last year established that there are koalas in Mumbulla forest. Animals have been sighted and photographed there.
  6. The Management Plan will not protect koalas.  Koalas move up to 50kms  so just leaving the cells will not work.  Young male koalas need to find new territories.
  7. Any further disturbance of the forest will reduce nutrient availability and make it harder for koalas to find suitable food trees.
  8. Steve Phillips – Australia’s most expert Koala scientist, said on ABC SE radio, “Federal Government is undertaking a scientific study of the status of Koalas .. results will not be available for 9-12 months ....we have got the management prescriptions (for koalas) wrong, especially in the SE …. The small area of koala habitat remaining is such a precious resource …. They have just got to be protected so they can continue to expand ….. there is no longer any argument about what is important habitat”.
  9. NSW Koala Recovery Plan states as principles: “maintenance of existing populations (i.e. no local extinctions) …. Improvement of the extent and quality of habitat and protection of priority habitats and sites …. Increase in the numbers of breeding females …. An expansion in distribution and the presence of koalas in all areas of primary koala habitat”.
  10. Analysis of the koala scat data debunks (for SE NSW at least) the old myth that koalas prefer trees of certain species and you can therefore map and protect areas of feed trees. The Mumbulla data shows koalas will eat any species. It is the nutrient content of the leaves that is important, NOT the species of eucalypt! Therefore the whole forest needs to be protected.