Has city council really had change of heart over koalas?

DEAR Sir, Before ratepayers bask in the warm and fuzzy glow of contributing to the welfare of koalas through the new levy announced by the Gold Coast City Council, it would be cautionary to consider what has happened to a previous levy (The Open Space Preservation Levy) imposed with the express intention to acquire sites of the highest significance for nature conservation. The previous Open Space Preservation Levy, which ceased in June 2017, accumulated significant funds which were never expended. Since 2012 to the cessation of the levy in 2017, no land was purchased by the council. Instead, the levy was replaced by a new Open Space Maintenance and Enhancement Separate Charge, which re-directed ratepayer funds to pay for staff who work on any project related to the environment and management purposes including weeding, controlled burns and fencing. This was clearly not the intent of the original levy and is a sleight of hand to redirect funds from conservation to general purpose council funding. It is ironic that the council, who now paint themselves as koala crusaders, have contributed enormously to the plight of koalas. Council’s planning policy, approving broad scale, greenfield development and infill of residential areas supporting koala populations, especially in the northern Gold Coast suburbs, has reduced vital habitat and threatened the viability of koala populations long term. Koala populations are on the brink, surviving in patches of remnant bushland, and small open space corridors, and back yards, at the mercy of traffic, dogs and human activities. In the not too distant future, koalas may not exist as a wild population on the Gold Coast, only surviving in theme parks and Hinterland areas. Perhaps the elusive blue Borobi may now become the next tourist attraction, in lieu of the real thing, as the council has consistently squandered opportunities to take real and decisive action to protect koalas and their habitat. In future, with no actual koalas left in the city, perhaps the new koala levy may also be redirected to construct a koala museum as part of the cultural precinct, to educate visitors about the heritage of the Gold Coast that has been lost through council inaction. Does the council have a koala conscience? I am not convinced.