Queensland Koala Crusader co-founder and ambassador Meghan Halverson called on guests to hold on to hope at the final Noosa Parks Association Friday forum last week while they learnt of declining rates of koala numbers and viewed the screening of a film exposing logging operations in NSW’s Great Koala National Park.
The film by Global Conservation, titled War on Nature, featuring wildlife photojournalist Paul Hilton, was followed by discussion with Meghan and young environmentalist Spencer Hitchen who had accompanied Hilton to the Great Koala National Park during some of the documentary-making.
“They say it takes a village to raise a child. I think it takes a collective across Queensland, Australia and the globe to start to look at what is our footprint and what can we do individually to make a difference,” Meghan said.
“There’s some really good strides happening in Queensland bringing corridors together, that’s critical.”
According to the NSW government website, it committed $80 million in its 2023-24 budget to assess 176,000 hectares of state forest for the development of the Great Koala National Park.
“While the assessment work is underway, the NSW Government has implemented a halt to timber harvesting operations within designated koala hubs located in the Great Koala National Park assessment area,” the website states.
The film focuses on a grassroots movement striving to protect the national park which promises to deliver a pristine intact corridor from the coast to the Great Dividing Range, while Hilton documented the destruction of the parks forests by 12 active logging operations.
“Today there are fewer than 80,000 koalas remain in the wild. Australia has one of the highest rates of deforestation in the world due to land clearing for beef production, unregulated urban development and forest logging,” the film tells us.
Ecologist Mark Graham who is fighting for the national park says the koala is perilously close to extinction.
“It’s come about because of habitat clearance, bushfires and climate crisis, particularly heat waves and droughts have wiped them out,” he said.
“They need corridors from coast line to peaks of Great Dividing Range to remain viable.
“Hundreds of hectares are being destroyed in an area the state government promised to protect.”
Hilton films logging trucks taking out high value forests, home to koalas and greater gliders while Graham tells how conservationists have walked into logging camps to stop logging.
“Anywhere there’s not resistance forests are being destroyed,” he says.
Spencer told the forum he was in the Koala Great National Park when Paul was filming a lot of that footage. He saw greater gliders and glossy black cockatoos and witnessed their forests being destroyed in logging, he said.
“Imagine if someone came and bulldozed our homes, our roads, our footpaths, our shops, our everything. That’s what we’re doing to these species, we’re destroying their last chance of survival,” he said.
“Without forests we can’t breath, can’t have clean water, can’t have food. We are nature and we need nature.”
Meghan said recent figures showed 200,000 trees were toppled every day in Australia, 8000 trees per hour.
“We’re replanting trees, we’re revegetating but how do we keep up with that if we don’t stop it,” she said.
“For every 100ha of forest cleared, 2000 birds, 15,000 reptiles and 500 mammals are lost. We’ve got a lot to answer for.”
Meghan said there were things individuals could do to make a difference.
“If we stop forest clearing and recycle, there’s enough wood on this planet, we don’t need to take it away. Look at where you buy things. Only buy beef if it comes from a regenerative farm, only buy wood from a sustainable source, eat one less meal a week with beef, do whatever your health requires but what your conscience requires. Stop doing the same thing over and over and expecting to get a different result,” she said.
“We can write to government representatives, share the knowledge, make your voice known.
“Think about who you vote for.”
Spencer said addresses for politicians to write to could be found on SaveSunriseglossies Facebook site.
