Young wants land to back bear facts
A GOLD Coast City councillor has urged leaders to lock up more conservation land to stop an increasing number of koalas and native animals being “scraped off our roads”.
Councillor Peter Young said recent koala killings were a result of council not conserving enough land for the city’s wildlife.
“We live in a city that has the most diverse environment and the highest rate of growth in the whole of Australia and we are therefore required to do extraordinary things to protect these environmental values to contribute to our quality of life,” he said.
The Currumbin Wildlife Hospital is on track to treat 400 more animals this year than in 2016. Koala admissions have spiked 20 per cent.
Twelve koalas have been killed on Tallebudgera Connection Rd alone this year, two in the past fortnight. And at least another 10 have been killed across the Gold Coast over the past two weeks.
Dreamworld yesterday announced it had been granted a special permit to take up to 25 male koalas from non-protected areas of the Coast for its breeding program.
“Dreamworld currently has the ability to take females from the wild, but with spring on the way, it’s important for the project to be able to capture males as well,” Environment Minister Steven Miles said.
“The issuing of this permit is timely as 14 koalas are 2007: 25
2008: 48
2009: 150
2010: 130
2011: 175
2012: 298 2013: 240
2014: 230
2015: 302
2016: 418
2017: At least 500
currently stranded in a Coomera development site and are essentially cut off from their habitat corridor.”
Gold Coast City Council declined to reveal how much money is in a ratepayer environmental fund, set aside to buy land for conservation.
The Open Space Preservation Levy Land Acquisition Program spent more than $40 million on 4300 hectares of conservation land from 1999 to 2012, making up one third of the city’s green space. However, council said it had not used the fund to buy green space or recreational land since 2012.
It said the city’s green space had expanded by almost 10,000 hectares through development contributions, statutory environmental covenants and voluntary conservation agreements.
Currumbin Wildlife Hospital’s Dr Michael Pyne said the facility had treated 9600 animals last year and were on track to treat more than 10,000 this year.
“We would love more conservation land for our wildlife,” he said.
The NSW Government last week announced it had bought 100 hectares of conservation land in Pottsville to protect koalas.