Where have all the koalas gone?

I have lived in the Redlands for over 20 years and used to see koalas every day.
The local children used to regularly knock on my door after dark to tell me there was a koala walking down the road. I remember seeing three in one day near my house on more than one occasion.
Now I count myself lucky to see one or two a year, during mating season. So far this season I have not seen or heard a single one.
Redland City Council is promoting tourism these days, so why do they not take action to truly protect one of the tourist attractions, the local koalas. The iconic koala is one of the attractions bringing visitor here. Overseas visitors in particular all want to see koalas and kangaroos. This makes the koala a valuable commodity to the tourism industry.
Koalas are worth more alive than dead! Local tourism is not only about Stradbroke Island and beaches.
This Council needs to get serious if it does not want to be the Council that watched the koalas go extinct in the Redlands due to their non-action during their time in office. What a legacy that would be!
The time is overdue to truly protect koalas and their necessary habitat without local residents having to fight over and over again for every koala food tree, for every square metre of habitat.
Now is the time to ensure habitat, corridors and food trees are protected, new corridors established, speeds reduced on the roads, safe crossings built like in overseas countries, laws to lock up dogs brought in and most importantly enforced, laws without backbone are useless!
Stop bowing to so called “development pressures”. There is sufficient land for houses and units in the City.
I remember Noosa Shire used to keep development and population growth in check, why is Redland City Council unable to do so? Why is this Council so development driven? Yes I know, the blame goes to the State, they will tell me.
I call this passing the buck, one as unwilling to act as the other while we are watching our treasured local koalas go extinct.
Now I wonder if this Council will take the necessary and urgent steps, to ensure the long term survival of the urban koala or if it will take a Council with more foresight and political will.
After 19 years of dealing with this same issue again and again, I am truly tired but rest assured not about to let those responsible off the hook!
Posted by Erica Siegel
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