Fur flies in koala cash squabble
THE claws are out in a brawl over bushfire-ravaged koalas.
A leading Queensland koala expert has slammed the Morrison Government’s response to the bushfires, saying the Sunshine State has been largely “forgotten” in a $50 million wildlife relief fund.
The Government announced the fund this week, including $3 million for Queensland wildlife hospitals and $3 million for habitat restoration in the state’s southeast and northern NSW.
But Dreamworld Wildlife Foundation boss Al Mucci says money should also be going to long-term koala preservation projects, in which Queensland is a world leader, rather than just “patching up” animals burnt in the bushfires.
“Queensland voted in Scott Morrison but they’ve forgotten about us,” he said. “A lot of money is going to the big city zoos which comparatively have hardly any koalas.
“It’s great that the wildlife hospitals are receiving assistance but what happens after the animals are patched up? Koalas were in danger and dying before the fires.”
An estimated one billion wild animals, including tens of thousands of koalas, were killed in the devastating bushfires that swept through much of Australia in recent months.
Mr Mucci said there were no Queenslanders on an expert panel appointed by the Federal Government to help steer the wildlife recovery effort.
“There should be, because some of Australia’s foremost koala experts are based here and we lost large numbers of koalas in the bushfires, especially around Binna Burra,” he said.
He said there was no federal funding for the Living Koala Genome Bank, a project that involves capturing wild koalas at risk of death from disease and habitat destruction and relocating them to safer areas.
The project is a joint venture between Dreamworld, the University of Queensland and Queensland University of Technology.
Mr Mucci said rescued koalas and joeys bred as part of the project could be released back into bushfire-ravaged areas once they regenerate.
A spokesman for federal Environment Minister Sussan Ley said the $50 million was “an initial response and further funding will be forthcoming”, with $6 million allocated to Queensland.
He said the expert panel chaired by Threatened Species Commissioner Dr Sally Box was advising on national priorities and would include Queensland representatives.