Hon Kate Jones MP
Minister for Climate Change
and Sustainability,
Queensland Government |
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"There is no doubt that the need for action to protect and preserve our koalas is urgent. They are under threat from loss of habitat, road deaths and dog attacks.
To ensure the survival of this iconic Australian animal, we need a concerted effort from State Government, local councils, developers and the community and I am committed to making sure that happens.
That is why a new State Planning Policy will be in force by the end of the year to give a clear framework to local authorities and other decision makers that puts koala habitat front and centre when assessing new developments." |
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Michael Choi MP
State Member for Capalaba |
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"I was in the school playground of one of my local schools a few years ago to speak to the students about the importance of tree planting. I couldn’t help but noticed they were totally captured by my excellent presentation skills with their eyes wide open and their jaws dropped. Only then did I realise that a lone koala had sneaked behind me and was trying to climb the very tree I was seeking shelter from. A sense of deflated ego was replaced quickly by awe for nature and our furry uninvited guest.
This experience highlighted how important it is for us to get the human/koala interface right in all facets of our community, be it urban planning, pet management, habitat retention or rehabilitation.
I represented the Queensland Government recently in discussions with other jurisdictions in formulating a National Koala Strategy. Clearly more needs to be done and possible solutions can only be found in partnership between all levels of governments and the community." |
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Deborah Tabart OAM
Chief Executive Officer
Australian Koala Foundation |
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"There is no time to waste. Glimpsing a wild koala in its natural habitat may be a thing of the past in a few short years – a memory treasured by older generations, an experience unattainable to younger generations.
The heartbreaking decline of the koala population in recent years indicates to me that if the State and Federal Governments continue to ignore the calamitous situation the koala will be extinct within a couple of years.
We as a nation must send a strong message to our government ministers that the loss of our national icon is unacceptable. We must act now. Visit www.savethekoala.com to find out how you can help." |
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Mark O'Connor
Australian poet, literary scholar, and environmentalist |
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"The Australian naturalist Sydney William Jackson, author of Egg Collecting and Bird Life of Australia (1907), found room in his great printed collection of Australian birds for just one mammal. The frontispiece of his volume showed a photo of koala, mentioning that a soon to be forgotten charm of his explorations 100 feet up in the trees in search of birds' nests was the occasion meeting with this wonderful creature, which would within a few years be made extinct by shooters. He was wrong. A ban on shooting the koala saved it. Might it now be saved a second time a century later?" |
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Dr. Jane O'Sullivan
The University of Queensland
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"Koalas are fantastic ambassadors for our eucalyptus forests. These wonderful ecosystems are little valued by people, as they don't capture the imagination in the same way as rainforests. Without koalas, they will be degraded or removed with hardly a thought. But koalas can't hang on in our region for much longer, against the incoming tide of human population. Why do we have to wait until all the koalas are gone, before we realize that more growth is complete folly and impoverishes us all?"
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Australian Wildlife Hospital |
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"The South-East Queensland koala population is suffering dramatic decline as a result of habitat loss and disease. The Australian Wildlife Hospital is a leading collaborator on projects with others who are investigating koala diseases to help save our national icon. We can choose to do nothing, or we, as a nation, can come together and help save the koala. We need every Australian to help contribute." |
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Jenny Miller
Environmental Scientist |
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"The iconic koala is a recognisable international symbol of Australia, yet we do little to protect them as Australian wildlife. What message would we send to the world if we allow this national treasure to disappear from nature?"
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Baz Bardoe
Musician/Environmental Project Manager |
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"Koalas are not just cute, they are iconic, and symbolic of so much that we know and love of this land. You can be sure that when their numbers dwindle it is a sign that we are facing an ecological catastrophe – even if we are not able to fully recognise the early warning signs just yet. Don't leave it too late!"
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Peter Ludlow
Author |
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"For twenty years I have been writing about Moreton Bay’s history as seen through the eyes of its ‘locals’. In part, my aim was to preserve, in print at least, Moreton Bay as it once was, because the Bay, like everywhere else, is changing rapidly. Koalas, too, are ‘locals’, but are not able to recount for us the ‘good old days’. They need people like Dianne and YOU to speak on their behalf. I hope in the years to come that I will never have to write of Moreton Bay’s Koalas as a vanished species. We need to act, while there is still time." |