Cranky Koala has been on a few road trips over the last few months.
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A joint NSW Parliamentary inquiry revealed that current koala strategies were failing, and if immediate action wasn't taken, koalas were facing extinction in the wild by 2050.
In the face of widespread criticism, the NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, who had overseen these failed polices and increased land clearing and development where koalas live, announced that she wanted to be "known as the Premier who saved the koala".
The NSW Environment Minister Matt Kean went further; not only would they not go extinct, he would double their population by 2050.
They both had the support (and many photo opportunities) with the NSW Planning Minister, Rob Stokes.
Well it WAS pretty simple after all. Basically you identify areas where koalas are known to live and breed, and protect the trees they use. A new koala State Environment Planning policy was put in place.
This produced a well reported dummy spit by the Deputy Premier and the Leader of the National Party, John Barilaro. Having shown no such determination in protecting farming land and precious water supplies from mining and CSG companies, he would now stand up against those pesky koalas. He was even reported to call them "tree rats."
While publicly acting as though she had stood up to the National Party leader, it wasn't long before the Premier agreed on a compromise. It's the Local Land Services Amendment (Miscellaneous) Bill 2020. It contradicts all previous public statements by the Premier, and will reduce current protections for koalas, and see MORE of their homes cleared in NSW.
This bill has already passed through the NSW Legislative Assembly.
Yes, our local member Wendy Tuckerman did her duty as a career politician and voted for the amendments.
It is now set to go before the Upper House.
So much for protecting core koala breeding areas. The majority of koala habitat is on private lands and 99 per cent of that was unprotected. If this bill passes it will remain unprotected.
In the past, Cranky Koala has visited Mr Barilaro's office in Queanbeyan, delivered petitions to the current Premier in Willoughby, and the former premier in Manly.
He recently visited NSW Parliament when word spread about the proposed amendment, and this week went to Martin Place, and with others, informed passersby about this betrayal.
This has all happened despite those very public assurances by the Premier, the Environment Minister and the Planning Minister that they would save our koalas.
The same old routine of say one thing publicly, then do another. Introduce one policy to media applause, then undermine with contrary polices and exemptions.
The Premier only recently did the media thing of announcing more land for the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital, while at the same time the Federal Environment Minister, Sussan Ley, approved the extension of a quarry in Port Stephens into 50 hectares of koala habitat.
And what of the Prime Minister? He and his Environment Minister are currently weakening federal environment laws.
While doing this - our PM visited a zoo in Adelaide, and said his favourite Aussie animal was the koala. He said he found it funny how they looked when they got the "irrits". Cranky Koala decided to visit Scotty and explain that koalas had every right to be irritable, and in fact he was cranky!
So he visited the Sutherland Shire last week to look for the PM. Cranky Koala is after all a concerned stakeholder in the environment.
He couldn't gain access to Scotty's office in Cronulla - he's not a local constituent, so he spent the day strolling the local mall and checking out waterfront property and telegraph poles, in case he and his koala cousins had to relocate when their bush homes disappear.
It's unfortunate that koalas aren't cashed up donors to political parties, and they can't just arrange a meeting or pay a fee to gain access to a Minister's ear.
The constant hypocrisy of our politicians is a bigger issue than koalas.
If we are willing to let koalas die on our watch, what hope does any other Aussie plant or animal have? So Cranky Koala hits the streets to raise awareness of the issues that affect us all.
And make no mistake, all life on earth depends on healthy ecosystems
This is a fight for the future. It's one we can't afford to lose.
* Mark Selmes is Cranky Koala and lives at Taralga.
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