Julian Simmonds (Ryan, Liberal National Party) Share this | Hansard source

Certainly I can agree with the member for Griffith on this aspect of the motion: the importance of protecting our koala population and particularly our local koala population in the Ryan electorate. However, the statements made in the motion that this side of the House, the government, is not steadfastly committed to this task is simply not the case. Since 2014 the government has invested over $26.4 million on projects for the support, the protection and the growth of our local koala population—projects like tree planting and reconnecting vital koala corridors and preserving our important koala habitat. This month we have announced an $18 million package to protect Australia's koalas, including a national koala audit that will help scientists better understand the locations and the movements of our local koalas and enable us to better determine how best to support their continued growth as a population.

I know in particular that my good friend in the neighbouring electorate, the Assistant Minister for Waste Reduction and Environmental Management, the member for Brisbane, is very passionate about this particular issue. He knows, as I do, how important the local koala population is, particularly to our home city of Brisbane. Throughout my time as a local councillor and now in this place I've been proud to support koala facilities, particularly those in our electorate of Ryan. It's ironic that it's the member for Griffith who has moved this particular motion when her electorate is in the city of Brisbane where the local council invests more in protecting koala habitat and supporting the koala population than any other local government around Australia.

The Ryan electorate itself is home to two fantastic koala facilities. I want to take the opportunity of this particular motion to highlight them because their volunteers and staff are out there on the ground every day helping to protect our koala population. The first is Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, the world's first and largest koala sanctuary, right in our electorate of Ryan at Fig Tree Pocket. It's home to 130 koalas, which is a decent sized population in itself. It is a fantastic tourist attraction of course, but Lone Pine as a koala sanctuary serves a very important purpose of helping to do further research on koalas and helping to rehabilitate injured and sick koalas as well. Through its efforts with tourists, it is of course continuing to preserve our Aussie icon by ensuring that the world knows how precious the koala population is.

COVID-19 has proven itself to be tough, and this year has proven to be tough for all of us. But it has proven to be tough for our zoos and aquariums. Through the federal government's $94.6 million support package, Lone Pine was able to continue to care for its animals. Robert, the then general manager of Lone Pine, described it in these terms: 'Even though tourists weren't able to visit the sanctuary during the lockdown, it's important to remember vet bills, food costs and other maintenance for the animals did not stop. The government's support was essential in ensuring the ongoing costs could be met.'

Lone Pine is also home to the Brisbane Koala Science Institute. This was an election commitment of mine in 2016 when I was a local councillor. The Brisbane City Council put $3 million towards establishing it. It is a fantastic addition to Lone Pine's sanctuary efforts. The Koala Science Institute brings together koala scientists and environmentalists from around the nation, along with the universities and our next generation of scientists, to further their research in a collaborative manner and to further the cause of our local koala population. Their current research focuses on trying to understand why some koalas developed severe disease when they are infected with chlamydia, which is a threat, of course, to our declining northern wild koala population, including the role that genetics can play. They are looking at the way that they can sequence those genetics. The facilities at Lone Pine will allow other researchers to analyse samples from koala populations right across South-East Queensland. The work being done at Lone Pine is helping to pioneer Australia's conservation efforts in this related field and will play a crucial role in protecting the koala species.

Our electorate of Ryan is also home to the Moggill Koala Rehabilitation Centre, which was opened in 1991 to provide care for injured, sick or orphaned koalas. The Moggill koala centre is part of a greater network of wildlife facilities in South-East Queensland serving our injured koala population. Just like these two great Ryan institutions, this government will be focused on practical measures to protect our koala population—not the virtue signalling of the opposition but practical, on-the-ground measures and funding, where we can, to help our koala populations.

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