Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Trade) Share this | Hansard source

I'm sure Senator Hanson-Young does actually know that, across different parts of Australia, there are, indeed, different areas of habitat for koala species, and quite different population trends in those different parts of Australia as well. Senator Hanson-Young invites me to come in here and give some blanket guarantee about koalas overall and 'not one more hectare' without acknowledging the fact that, in different parts of the country, there are absolutely strong, vibrant populations of koalas that we want to see continue to be strong and vibrant populations. But that's not to say that there can't be complementary developments, particularly of a tourism nature or the like, that can ensure sustainable activity in those communities and continue to preserve koala populations and habitat as is necessary. That's the careful balancing act that we commit to undertaking to make sure that we preserve those most important species for Australians but also to ensure that Australians have jobs as well.