The tourism potential of Redlands koalas doesn’t appear to be understood by the city’s leadership
I find myself surprised and delighted that someone in a leadership role in South East Queensland has embraced the obvious.
Most G20 world leaders visiting Brisbane wanted to be photographed with a koala
Hats off to Brisbane Lord Mayor Graham Quirk who understands how our iconic koalas can make a huge impact to the local tourism economy.
As recently reported in the Brisbane Times, he intends to take full advantage of the opportunity by purchasing bushland, creating eucalypt food forests and setting up a $2 million koala research centre. Lord Mayor Quirk plans to make Brisbane and koalas as identifiable as Chengdu, China is with pandas.
I’m constantly appalled by the negativity and lip service our city seems to pay to these magnificent animals that are still in our back yards and in our streets (admittedly not many now).
If the leadership of our city can’t summon the necessary enthusiasm to really protect and elevate the status of koalas, then is it any wonder that the average resident is at best ambivalent about their plight.
Redlands koala Photo: Doug Cox
It would be wonderful at best, sensible at worst, to have koalas seen as a valuable asset, and not as a nuisance to our friends the developers in the community. It appears to me that we’re putting the financial gains of the few ahead of the potential for benefit for the entire city.
I think it’s time that the councillors insisted on scrutiny of every single request for tree removal to ensure there are no creative approvals being awarded.
But there’s a long, long way to go in the Redlands , and precious little time.
I hope Mayor Quirk’s enlightened approach is contageous. Let’s all push again to keep, grow and value our koalas, and prosper with the help of our furry mates.
Doug Cox – 2 October 2016
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5 Comments
Totally agree with Doug Cox as he supports Mayor Graham Quirk with his plans for Brisbane City.
We can understand that this intelligent Mayor does realise how important and precious koalas are to the liveability of the city of Brisbane.
Why is it that our Council cannot realise just how important koalas are to The Redlands?
It really would be wonderful and clever to have koalas seen as a valuable asset to our area and not the nuisance that the developers appear to think they are.
How sad to think that The Redlands keep putting the financial gains of a few ahead of the potential for the benefit for the entire city. Wake up Redlands City Council! Open your eyes and realise what we are doing to our koalas and other wildlife and how we are losing these precious animals to what the developers want.
Many thanks to Doug Cox for expressing so well what we all know to be wisdom. Here’s hoping that Redland City Councillors show leadership of this calibre and our current epidemic of developers are slowed down in their frantic efforts to change Redlands City into such unnecessary ugliness.
it is a no brainer that Koalas are an asset to the tourism industry but Redland City thinks it can promote local tourism without needing Koalas. Koalas and Kangaroos are on the list of every overseas visitors so what is blocking the thought processes of our local Council?
I have the greatest admiration for Lord Mayor Graham Quirk who, for example, would never sell a neighbourhood park/reserve knowing how important parks are for health and wellbeing in any given community that we the people of Redlands were so close to losing over a dozen but for change of heart prior to last local election. Seems that neither Federal, State or local governments consider conservation and preservation of koalas as being important in the scheme of things. Developers rule the roost it seems as they have shown us over and over again, koalas have no place to call home when any land is about to be developed for housing…leaving no room for parkland either that was a requirement at one time. We have watched as protected corridors never to be built on, have been, since developers have deep pockets and we can all be bought. It’s a tragedy that 80% of our SEQ koalas are extinct, since no government body has what it takes to call a halt to the slaughter. Will sleep better tonight knowing Brisbane’s Lord Mayor is purchasing bushland for koalas, + creating eucalypt forests where our unique Aussie marsupials will have homes free to roam and free from harm. Recall reading in CM of a US citizen who visited Australia for the sole purpose of seeing a koala in the wild. There was a time when Japanese exchange students stood mesmerized under koala trees in Alexandra Hills TAFE grounds. Adding to existing habitat there and end Ingham St to further habitat, KAG helped plant a cluster of koala food trees in park adjacent to the grounds….sadly, no koalas to visit anymore that once brought joy and gladness to local residents, myself included. All my work was in vain since developers are not required to leave any of the natural surrounding environment for community wellbeing.
The welcome proposals are very late for a species which is going subregionally extinct. The Brisbane City Council new Policy on Koalas should be read in coordination with the koalas in the Hemmant LAP, Approval at the Gap (called in), shortcomings of the Local Law Vegetation, the “sardine city” BCC Cityplan 2015 with 53 Growth Suburbs, and from other sources, the apparent lack of BCC committment to Fauna overpasses over the widening Gateway Arterial , Logan Motorway and Mt Lindesay Highway at the $450M Transurban LEP(Federal EIS only). This site is in the Flinders Karawatha Corridor 2013 report which has been hung out to dry by some signatories.
BCC bushland buyback at Trinity Green(Drewvale South) which once had 3 colour phases of the Greater Glider is congratulated, but it , and Parkinson remain unconnected to the rest.
The Minister has proposed a 2 level Inquiry into Koalas.
The Terms of Reference list 3 pages of current legislation , which have largely failed since 1995,but it ,without background papers ,omits;
LNP etc rolled back legislation from DILGP(Planning ,SPP and SEQRP) Loss of SARA Referrals, DNR (vegetation)and DTMR(Green Fauna Infrastructure and corridor buyback) as well as
programs gone,
the 5 or more “Koala Industries”,
extraordinarily and unacceptably high Euthanasia, and
culling proposals,and
SEQ Catchments Koala Habitat mapping,
Loss of Staff, Equipment, programs and Resources
lack of Koala Observation ,injury and mortality statistics etc etc
It is suggested that individual groups, get briefed , have meetings and a combined meeting before making submissions to a process which may not have the ability to acknowledge and recommend the community solutions and new science based solutions
1. The business review unit : BRU.NCS@ehp.qld.gov.au
2. general http://www.surveymonkey.com/r/DWL88PP
The Koala should be declared endangered immediately and National and International
help sought.
(Perhaps as part of the East Coast Forests , the World 35 th Biodiversity Hotspot?)
Greater Glider