Koala Commandments: urgent demands to save Victorian Koalas

 

Koala Advocates from all over Victoria have compiled these urgent demands to save Victorian koalas.

Download Koala Commandments

Join us for a peaceful rally outside the office of Premiere Dan Andrews on Friday 18th November, from 12.30pm.  Hear first hand accounts from carers and advocates from across Victoria, about the many challenges facing our Koalas. The Koala Commandments will be handed to Daniel Andrews office at conclusion of the rally.

 

Position statement:

Victorian Koalas have been killed by the thousands in bushfires, are being killed and injured in plantations and by government-owned forestry operations, are killed on the roads, and by heatwaves, droughts and floods fuelled by climate change. Koala care & rehabilitation is underfunded, and often lacks specialised veterinary support. Koala habitat is not protected and can be cleared, and koala habitat planting and connectivity planning is ad hoc. Yet the state still has no Koala Management Strategy, koala population research is scant and outdated, but the Victorian government still claims that koalas are ‘thriving’. As a result, the leaders of Koala conservation in Victoria have united to demand the Dan Andrews Labor government acts to save our precious koalas before it’s too late.

1 Commit to immediately ceasing all native forest logging.

2 Immediate moratorium on Blue Gum plantation harvesting operations until animal cruelty issues and alternative habitat issues are resolved, and government funding for koala conservation is allocated..

3 Commit funding for regular scientific koala population assessments statewide, every 5 years.

4 Fund a comprehensive support package for koala carers and rescuers.

5 Take urgent, measurable action to mitigate climate change, starting immediately with no new oil or gas for Victoria.

6 Include protection of koala habitat in state planning laws, legislate for connectivity of remnant habitat, review the impact of bushfire overlays on wildlife, and review land clearing laws.

7 Require councils to prepare comprehensive Koala Plans of Management before approval of rezoning or development in known or potential koala habitat, ensuring appropriate mapping, consultation and protection.

8 Though promised in August 2022, the Dan Andrews government has failed to deliver a Koala Management Strategy. The last Koala Management Strategy was written in 2004 and has not been updated. We insist that this document is released before the end of 2022, and updated every 5 years.

9 Allocate government funding to investigate koala road death hotspots, and build fencing and wildlife crossings at those locations.

10 Increase funding for koala tree planting in Victoria, especially along waterways and to connect remnant patches of koala habitat.

Signed by:

Janine Duffy
President
Koala Clancy Foundation
https://www.koalaclancyfoundation.org.au/

Jessica Robertson
President
Ballarat Wildlife Rehabilitation & Conservation
www.bwrac.org.au

Melinda Darer
Secretary, Friends of Alberton West Forest
https://albertonwestforest.com/
Registered Wildlife Carer, Mel & the Menagerie
https://www.melandthemenagerie.org/

Rebecca Keeble
Regional Director – Oceania
International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW)
https://www.ifaw.org/au

Gayle Osborne
Wombat Forestcare
https://www.wombatforestcare.org.au/

Janet Murray
Registered Koala Shelter operator
Blessings of the Bush Koala Shelter
https://www.facebook.com/blessingsofthebushkoalas

Meredith Stanton
Secretary
Australian Forests & Climate Alliance (AFCA)
https://forestsandclimate.org.au/

Dirk Jansen
President
Mornington Peninsula Koala Conservation
https://www.mpkoalas.org.au/

Jennifer Greenhalgh
Registered Wildlife Carer
Fair Go For Wildlife Shelter
https://www.bwrac.org.au/about-us/our-team/

Danni Townsend-O’Neil
Registered Wildlife Carer
Reach Out Wildlife Australia
https://www.reachoutwildlifeaustralia.org/

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