Noel Atkins REEF
Much has been made in Australia of the plight of one if its iconic animals – the Koala. This lovable creature has been adored worldwide, and has been the subject of children’s books, video, TV and media stories since settlement of Australia in 1788.
While we fully support the protection of Australian Native flora and fauna, we do not support the current process of conservation and political activists in misusing and misrepresenting our native environment to promote hidden agendas that are not in our national interest.
The current process of emotional political activism to raise funds worldwide for an apparently at-risk species can be labelled a form of emotional fraud, using misinformation and selected data. Most of this does not rely on fact or science.
The koala is now portrayed in the media as being critically endangered, maybe extinct by 2050 if current land clearing and native forestry harvesting practices continue. This view is pushed by conservationists and extremists using the now out of date NSW Senate report of over 10 years ago that reported (and assumed to be fact rather than an opinion) that koalas would be extinct by 2050 if something was not done.
This is far removed from the truth. They conveniently do not refer to numerous subsequent science-based research findings through credible field data that factually indicate that koala populations are healthy and growing:
The most recent CSIRO findings indicate koala numbers have multiplied at least 10 times in the last 12 years.
The NSW Dept of Primary Industry recent findings show koala population growth and forestry selective harvesting can and does co-exist.
Previous findings by the Natural Resources Commission that harvesting in native state forest has no negative impact on koala populations.
Recent reports provided to the proposed Great Koala Park enquiry indicate more than 12000 koalas exist in the native forest area being considered for the park, which has been managed and harvested for over 200 years.
If you are brave enough to speak your mind on the matter you run the risk of being ridiculed by the hardline activists and various media outlets, sympathetic to their cause and the emotive responses that create news. You can be labelled a “koala killer” because you do not support their views.
Those promoting locking up more land are doing a major disservice to both flora and fauna protection and degrading the intelligence of the general public, and people who actually know how to manage forests. This is a major con job/form of deception.
Let’s consider the drive for the new Great Koala National Park (GKNP).
The most recent study indicates koala numbers are very healthy in the 175,000 hectares being considered – in excess of 12,000 as stated above. Of course, supporters of the park will say this is precisely the reason to lock it up. However, it begs the question – If koalas are thriving in this environment managed by forestry for over 200 years, why make it a National Park fraught with all the dangers of megafires, unmanaged undergrowth and fuel build ups just waiting to explode? Just look at what is happening in the National Park Estate now with uncontrollable fires.
It is understood part of the argument for the park is to join up the existing adjacent national parks and to provide a safe corridor for koala travel. This also creates a joined pathway for fires to travel – so you are actually adding fuel to the fire, making potential megafires, rather than being able to isolate and separate. With this approach you (Govt, conservationists and activists) are in fact providing a recipe to destroy the existing koala population. You are becoming the “koala killers” as compared to foresters and responsible landholders who value their natural resources, the environment and look after it.
To say Forestry Corporation who manages the 12% of the state available for native timber harvesting runs the native hardwood Industry at a loss is a very convenient argument. You need to take the whole industry into account from source, right through the supply chain to the end user to determine the ultimate viability, including the communities and jobs in question.
Let’s not destroy the lives and jobs of up to 22000 people in regional communities , and destroy a 2.9 billion renewable sustainable industry in NSW in the process, and increase the cost of living and cost of housing as well, through further reliance on imports from non-regulated countries (now exceeding $5 billion in NSW) , and further the reliance on non-carbon friendly alternative products (e.g. steel, concrete, plastic). None of this makes commonsense and is another form of deception.
We should recognise the massive resources forestry supply in managing fires both in and out of National Parks, managing the road systems in forestry, of which many lead to and through National Parks.
Further public examination is needed to look at what the current public spending is on National parks and crown lands/reserves, which represents 88% of the Forestry estate, while the harvestable area available is only 12%. Let’s determine what the spend should be to properly maintain them, as well as do proper ongoing studies on providing data on wildlife sustainability and the mortality level in these parks.
When you look at where the koala and other wildlife were destroyed in past fires you must also look at the destruction in the national park estate and how that has contributed to the whole picture.
Forest harvesting and management is not a cause for loss of habitat or a cause of loss through fires but is part of the solution.
It is common knowledge that many of the megafires that devastated the state of NSW in 2019 originated in National Parks and spread out of control into state forests and private property, causing untold damage, loss of human life and private assets, as well as to native flora and fauna. Little has been done since to address this.
This then begs the question of what are we achieving in setting aside a well-managed pocket to be a GKNP to potentially destroy it? Is the real agenda to just close native forests to all forms of commercial activity no matter what, using the endangered species argument as an emotive tool to engender public support?
The solution and challenge for government: Ditch the “them and us” approach favoured by the extremists, create a cohabitation collaborative approach, combine the best use of forestry and environmental resources using the vast knowledge and science available. This requires courage and a less political approach and can give a win win for both people and the environment.
Noel Atkins is a director of REEF Research Foundation and chair of the Forestry Awareness Program.
