Tabart of the Australian Koala Foundation has been vocal about the need to introduce a Koala Protection Act, which would increase protections for tree habitats that koalas are known to rely on around the country.
“If we don’t just do the simple thing of stopping the cutting down of trees now, then I just can’t see a secure future. And so that’s why I want better legislation. None of the legislation in our country is sufficient to stop that simple chainsaw,” she said.
“Most of the things that are happening to koalas now are because their trees are cut down. They end up being homeless, they starve to death, they get sick and then they die.”
On a local scale, Pointing and her group in the Redlands are active in promoting education and awareness about the presence of koalas in the community. She concedes that koalas can be anonymous and hard to spot, which can hinder attempts to protect them.
But a bigger part of her activism is to hold decision-makers accountable for the actions that can make or break koala habitats in the area. A proposed development project called Toondah Harbour, which includes plans for a major new housing and leisure precinct on the Redlands coast, is at the centre of KAG’s focus.
She said it is another example of the authorities doing something on one hand, while the other hand does another. The project would be situated within a koala habitat and in an area of protected wetlands.
“They’re not serious about protecting koalas. Because at the end of the day, people are more important than koalas. People need to live somewhere and play somewhere. So I think the koalas will always be the losers, which is sad. But that’s the reality,” she said.
“What a tragedy for our children and our grandchildren to not be able to see koalas in the wild like we’ve been lucky enough to do.”
