Greens Challenge Garrett To List Koalas As Vulnerable
August 16th 2010 01:25
In Sydney with NSW Senate candidate Lee Rhiannon on Thursday, Australian Greens Leader Bob Brown said a national inquiry into long-term health of koala populations is needed.
“The koala is an iconic and much-loved Australian animal but we don't know enough about their status to say if they are threatened or not,” said Senator Brown.
“I moved for a national inquiry into koala population numbers, health and long-term management earlier this year - the Government knocked it back,” he said.
“I will move again for this inquiry after the election, but Minister Garrett has it in his power now to list the koala as vulnerable under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.”
Greens Senate candidate Lee Rhiannon said NSW conservationists had long been calling for better protection for koalas.
“Logging of key koala habitat is ongoing in New South Wales despite the clear risk it poses,” she said.
“Listing the koala as a vulnerable species would ensure that any potentially threatening activity to koala colonies - like logging in Mumbulla and Murrah state forests - would need to be referred to the Minister before it could go ahead.”
“It would be a tragedy if the koala was pushed to the brink of extinction or beyond before we knew how threatened they are.”
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