ifaw statement on the NSW government’s response to koala populations inquiry

Rebecca Keeble, IFAW Oceania Regional Director, said:

“It is baffling that the NSW government has only committed to completely supporting 11 out of the 42 recommendations made by a parliamentary inquiry into koala populations.

The inquiry found that without urgent intervention, koalas in New South Wales will become extinct before 2050 and the government’s failure to implement these crucial interventions is putting the iconic marsupial closer to extinction.

We have reached the tipping point. The actions this government takes now are critical and will go down in history as either condemning the species to extinction or bringing it back from the brink.

Koalas are beloved around the world but it is deeply disappointing that our own government is failing them.”

The state’s koalas were living on the brink before the catastrophic 2019-20 bushfires, with numbers plummeting and local extinctions occurring due to excessive land-clearing, drought, stress-related disease, car strikes, and dog attacks. The bushfires wiped out at least 15% of the NSW population. They need action now. Join IFAW in calling on the government to take emergency action to protect NSW koalas and their habitat by up-listing them from Vulnerable to Endangered on a provisional basis.