The Hon Peter Garrett AM MP

Minister for the Environment, heritage and the Arts

PO Box 6022

House of Representatives

Parliament House

CANBERRA  ACT  2600

Dear Minister

Re: 1998 National Koala Conservation Strategy Review

I am writing to you on behalf of the 300 members of Friends of the Koala, Inc.  We are a voluntary wildlife rehabilitation group with an energetic involvement in habitat restoration and enhancement, as well as research, community education and advocacy.  We have been engaged in this work for some 22 years.

Friends of the Koala is licensed by the NSW Department of the Environment and Climate Change to rescue, rehabilitate and release koalas across approximately 10,000 square kilometres on the Northern Rivers, encompassing the local government areas of Tweed, Kyogle, Byron, Ballina, Lismore and Richmond Valley.  In this current reporting year, 1 July 2007 to date, Friends of the Koala has attended to over 300 koalas.

Our members applaud the Federal Government’s initiative in reviewing the 1998 National Koala Conservation Strategy.  Despite the worthiness of its aim to provide a national framework for koala conservation, the 1998 Strategy has clearly failed to deliver.  A decade later we are still working without clearly articulated guidance from the agencies accountable for koala management and conservation.  The status of our koalas on the Northern Rivers continues to be shrouded in ambiguity.

We acknowledge that the current review is in its infancy.  Nevertheless we wish to make it clear that we and groups like us which are working with wild koalas every day of the year expect to be included in the review process. 

We request that we be advised of the review’s terms of reference; the composition of the Steering Committee which we gather is already appointed; current progress (i.e. the current stage of the review); and the consultative mechanisms there will be to engage grass-roots stakeholders.

The 1998 Strategy reiterated time and again, the importance of community participation and indeed there was a public exhibition of the draft and submissions invited.  In our view this is not a particularly satisfactory process to solicit input from the full range of stakeholders.

Minister, we trust that you are aware that the voluntary wildlife rehabilitation sector is developing state peak bodies.  Certainly in Queensland and in New South Wales the Queensland Wildlife Rehabilitation Council Inc. and the NSW Wildlife Council, Inc. are both well established.  We understand that the formation of similar bodies is very close in Victoria and in the Australian Capital Territory.  We suggest that you consider extending the composition of the Steering Committee to include some direct representation of the Nation’s hundreds of trained volunteer koala carers and rehabilitators.

Friends of the Koala believes that effective koala management requires strong and committed leadership.  We are looking for Government to clearly articulate a resourced framework of partnerships and processes that will maximize koala conservation outcomes by ensuring appropriate co-ordination and guidance at the national, state, regional and local levels.

We thank you for your attention to this matter and look forward to your prompt and detailed response.

Yours sincerely

.

Lorraine Vass

President

2 May 2008