Jim Fagan
The proposal to relocate the koala colony at Noosa Springs and replace the habitat with a five-storey hotel has been condemned by Queensland Koala Crusaders Association Ambassador, Meghan Halverson.
“Do I think it is the end of the population of Noosa Springs koalas. Yes I do.
“It is ludicrous to say you can tear up the trees and move the koalas and everything will be a-okay. Koalas have a very high stress level and this is going to push it through the roof.
“The disturbance to the koala, the glossy black cockatoo, the landscape, the habitat and all the creatures that lie underneath the koala in that umbrella is an absolute threat to their survival.”
Meghan is also co-founder and past president of the Crusaders and on Monday she was at the Noosa Springs koala site to meet some of the objectors who don’t want the 112-room hotel with luxury suites, three tennis courts and two swimming pools at the Resort and Spa to go ahead.
More than 500 objections from homeowners from Noosa Springs, Parkridge, The Oasis and Elysium, as well as local golfers, have been submitted to Noosa Council which is expected to consider the proposal next month.
A 21-point public impact statement has also been given to the council. It pinpoints opposition to the $29 million proposal by the owners, Chinese company Golden Horse Nine Dragon Lake Holdings, a major Hong Kong based real estate and resort developer.
Meghan told Noosa Today: “Every time we clear a block of land we isolate koalas. We actually put them in little islands. For genetic diversity, male joeys need to be able to travel between areas of habitat and connect with other males and females.
“If there are no corridors connecting the habitat, it is catastrophic. Developers often don’t consider the animals, the destruction of the landscape and don’t really understand what they are doing to a community that really values the koalas in its backyard.”
She said Koala Crusaders was “absolutely supporting the objectors. We need to protect every tree. In areas of habitat, we are clearing more trees than we can replace. It takes five to 10 years to plant new trees and grow new habitat.”
“I believe the community wants to see koalas, glossies and the like in their area for years to come. Continued clearing for development within a Biosphere will lead to a lack of biodiversity and a path to extinction.”
One of the objectors, Warner Manning, later said that five years ago he and other volunteers received a grant from Noosa Council to create a centre for wildlife on Noosa Springs body corporate land.
“We volunteered to plant some friendly gum trees for koalas and build a log bridge over Noosa Springs creek to help koalas circulate round the lake,
“We have an arrangement with Koala Rescue that, if they do have a rescue they want to release into the wild, we release it into the designated area. We give them a donation for each release.”
