Koalas Not Coal
The Albanese government has green-lit the clearing of over 1,790 hectares of koala habitat for new coal mines and expansions since 2022. Every hectare of habitat bulldozed pushes threatened species like the koala and greater glider to the brink. The Albanese can act now before it’s too late, and reject new coal mines and expansions to save these critical koala populations.
Back in 2022 Labor came into power promising action on climate change and no new extinctions. But the Albanese Government approved several new coal mines and expansions that will clear over 1,790 hectares of koala habitat and turbocharge global heating - pushing the iconic species closer to extinction in the wild. There are still another 24 coal projects seeking approval to clear over 10,000 hectares of koala habitat.
This level of proposed destruction and carbon pollution paints a grim future for koalas threatened by more habitat loss through extreme heat, bushfires and droughts exacerbated by climate change.
The re-elected Albanese Government and Environment Minister Murray Watt, must take action to save the koala by rejecting disastrous new coal projects.
We call on the Minister Murray Watt and the Albanese Government to:
- Reject approvals for new coal mines and expansions that impact koalas and other threatened species, to address the threat of extinction from habitat destruction and climate change;
- Put in place an immediate moratorium on the clearing of any further koala habitat for coal projects and review environmental approvals of projects approved to impact on koala habitat in the last two years;
- End the reliance on biodiversity offsets that enable destruction of critical koala and other threatened species habitat, such as the greater glider;
- Commit to a rapid phase out of fossil fuels, to safeguard endangered species like the koala from the devastating impacts of climate collapse;
- Enact strong new nature laws that effectively protect threatened species and their habitat as well as comprehensively assess the climate impacts of proposed projects
- Deliver the promise of a Federal EPA without delay