BACK TO NATURE - Koalas need protective legislation

The Australian Koala Foundation (AKF) is still fighting for a national Koala Protection Act (KPA), grounded in a simple principle: the rule of law must protect Australia’s wildlife.

For four decades the Foundation has argued that the Koala, and all other species that call these forests home, deserve their own dedicated legislation — a law strong enough to properly safeguard habitat and ensure that the species survives for future generations.

In 2000, Deborah Tabart OAM, chair of the Australian Koala Foundation, convened a national legal summit bringing together Australian and international lawyers, scientists and conservation organisations to examine whether existing environmental laws could adequately protect the Koala. At the time they evaluated 22 different documents from State jurisdictions and by and large all agreed they were not working.

At the time, the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 had just come into force. After two days of discussions, participants encouraged the Australian Koala Foundation to allow the new legislation an opportunity to operate before pursuing separate Koala-specific law, a decision that has been met with much regret from the Foundation.

Why? Because more than two decades later, the results are clear. Bob Brown, then a Senator, did identify and support such a law in 2014 but in 2016, the “big” conservation groups, thinking that Labor would win the election, decided to abandon “species specific legislation” and the rest of course is history, says Tabart. 

The Koala went from Vulnerable to Endangered in this time.

One of the most significant weaknesses of the EPBC Act is that land clearing does not automatically trigger federal protection, even though it is recognised as a threatening process. 

Only the Federal Environment Minister has the power to trigger that Act. The current minister is Murray Watt, the sixteenth person to hold the role since Tabart joined the Australian Koala Foundation in 1988, nearly 40 years ago. 

A Koala Protection Act would remove Ministerial approval and also “Permits to Take” which is by and large a “licence to kill”.

In practice, projects are frequently “called in” or granted “controlled action” status. This means developments may proceed while further environmental information is gathered, a process that can allow large areas of Koala habitat to be cleared while assessments continue.

For the Koala, time lost often means habitat lost and as a result suffering illness including Chlamydia.

AKF believes that Australia must now consider stronger environmental accountability. Around the world there is increasing discussion about new legal frameworks, including the concept of Ecocide — recognising severe environmental destruction as a crime.

The idea that the law evolves to protect what humanity values is not new. When laws are no longer strong enough to protect what matters, they must be strengthened. The call for stronger environmental protection also comes at a time when citizens are increasingly engaged in planning decisions that affect wildlife habitat. 

Submissions to the South-East Queensland Regional Plan have highlighted ongoing concerns about land clearing, habitat fragmentation and long-term planning for wildlife across Queensland.

Younger conservationists are now raising many of the same questions that have been asked for decades — about clearing limits, planning horizons and the continued loss of primary Koala habitat.

The Australian Koala Foundation believes the answer is clear: Australia needs a law designed specifically to protect the Koala and its habitat across the nation. A Koala Protection Act would ensure that the survival of the Koala is not left to flawed planning systems but safeguarded by enforceable national legislation.

The Australian Koala Foundation remains confident that such a law will be achieved. Because when people speak clearly enough, the law ultimately follows.

The Australian Koala Foundation (AKF) is the principal non-profit, non-government organisation dedicated to the effective management and conservation of the Koala and its habitat.