Bendigo's koala numbers have been in free fall: minister under pressure to release plan

The government has announced greater protection for koalas under national environment laws and a $50 million funding package, but has been accused of sitting on the strategy document for nearly a decade.

Australian Koala Foundation chairwoman Deborah Tabart said the Koala Recovery Plan was first announced in 2012 and a three-year deadline was set for its completion.

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"In 2012 two important things happened - the koala was declared as 'vulnerable' and the government committed to writing a Koala Recovery Plan within three years," she said.

"Ten years on, we still have no plan and our koalas have gone from 'vulnerable' to 'endangered'."

The Australian Koala Foundation has prepared a map showing population numbers by electorate, and estimates Greater Bendigo is home to fewer than a couple of hundred of the animals, in spite of significant suitable habitat areas. It estimates there are as few as 11,950 koalas left in Victoria though the true figure may be as high as 23,000.

Ms Ley announced the new koala funding in February and indicated she would share the Koala Recovery Plan with the states, but gave no commitment to sharing it publicly.

"The national plan developed through scientific advice and public consultation will now go to the relevant states for their final adoption and will help guide state and local government strategies," she said.

Bendigo's Wildlife Rescue Emergency Service backed the Australian Koala Foundation's assessment and confirmed it had found far fewer of the animals in the past two years than it had after the 2009 fires.

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WRES President Neil Morgan said qualified wildlife volunteers were left out of the last bushfire recovery effort in 2019-2020, when public servants and Australian Defence Force personnel were sent into affected areas instead.

"We lost thousands of them in the 2019-20 fires," he said.

Ms Tabart said Bendigo's koala population could make a strong recovery if it was given proper and co-ordinated support.

Ms Tabart said Australia's koala population had faced extinction in some areas between 1888 and 1927 due to the fur trade. However, their numbers did improve and could rally again if given proper support.

"Koalas were shot to extinction in South Australia," she said. The foundation has estimated there are currently between 7,600 - 13,100 koalas in South Australia, not including Kangaroo Island. "There is a great chance of recovery."

Ms Tabart said Bendigo would need a grassroots recovery - combining the efforts of local government and local organisations to save the region's marsupials.

"There's a lot of habitat around the town," she said.

"That's why the recovery plan is important. These habitats can be refilled but it will take intervention. You have to have day-to-day management in place for it to work."

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