Environmentalists in Brisbane’s bayside say the continued land-clearing of koala habitat highlights lingering loopholes in national environment laws, months after sweeping changes were passed in Canberra.
“Clearly things are not better. They haven’t fixed the laws … we’re still losing lots of trees,” Redlands resident Una Sandeman said.
Ms Sandeman is among a collective of residents in the region, east of Brisbane, who continue to protest the clearing of roughly 600 trees at Ormiston College — a private school and early learning centre which is adding new sporting ovals to its campus.
It was approved by the state government in May and clearing has now begun.
Redlands resident Una Sandeman believes the clearing of core koala habitat in her community highlights flaws in national environment laws. (ABC News: Edward Gill)
The school plans to offset almost the entire loss by replanting more than 500 “preferred koala habitat trees”.
But despite impacting a site mapped as “core koala habitat” in Queensland, the project was not assessed by the federal environment department.
“We are concerned that this is going to be setting a dangerous precedent for koalas in the future,” Ms Sandeman said.
Self-assessment system criticised
Before last year, Australia’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act had not been changed in 25 years.
“Everyone agrees that the laws as they stand are broken and need to be reformed,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in November.
But one element that was not tweaked was how projects are referred to the federal government.
Reforming Australia’s environment laws was a centrepiece of the Albanese government’s second-term agenda. (ABC News: Matt Roberts)
If a developer thinks their project is likely to significantly impact an endangered species like the koala, they must ask the federal government to review it.
Environmental lawyer Bruce Lindsay said historically that system had not worked in practice.
“Large amounts of land clearing under the Act in its first 20 years, for example, were not referred, even though it was impacting on listed threatened species.”
In the case of Ormiston College, the school did not self-refer the project after environmental consultants it had hired found the trees set to be removed were not permanent koala habitat and were only used occasionally by the marsupials.
Environmental lawyer Bruce Lindsay said self-referral has not worked in practice. (ABC News: Harrison Tippet)
The Koala Action Group — a Redlands-based community group — disagreed and, in correspondence seen by the ABC, tried to get the federal environment department to step in.
This was a lost cause. Under the EPBC Act, third parties cannot refer projects they object to.
Redlands resident Julia Hollman said there was important evidence the federal government should have looked at.
“The consultants said it was low koala usage when all the evidence says otherwise, the koala tracking, university research, photographs.“
A spokesperson for Ormiston College defended the report from JWA Ecological Consultants, which it said was based on multiple surveys and led by a senior ecologist with more than 20 years’ experience.
“This project has received rigorous environmental scrutiny at both a state and federal level,” the spokesperson said.
Tree clearing at Ormiston College began in May, sparking multiple protests from koala advocates on the Redlands coast, east of Brisbane. (ABC News: Edward Gill)
Dr Lindsay said the public should have been granted referral powers when the laws were changed last year.
“You would probably want to put some conditions or qualifications around that, but I think it’s a fair point to say that is a gap.”
The federal environment minister can request a referral if deemed necessary but was not convinced to do so for the Ormiston College development.
A spokesperson for Ormiston College said the project has received rigorous environmental scrutiny. (ABC News: Luke Bowden)
A federal spokesperson defended the self-referral system and said its EPBC Act changes would make it clearer when developments need to be referred, as well as “clearer criteria for unacceptable impacts and new regulatory tools, which will help protect the environment and give proponents clear rules, while helping decision-makers be fair and consistent”.
Cumulative habitat loss
Recent approvals in the Redlands, once home to one of Australia’s biggest urban koala populations, have also sparked discussions about whether changes to the laws are adequately addressing the issue of cumulative habitat loss.
Environmentalists believe the EPBC Act has allowed habitat to be gradually lost, with multiple projects approved within the same area.
Habitat loss on the Redlands coast has contributed to an 80 per cent drop in koala numbers over the last 25 years. (ABC News: Luke Bowden)
Ms Sanderman said the Redlands koala population — which has declined by 80 per cent since the 2000s — was a victim of such development.
“Every loss of habit or mature tree can contribute to a gradual decline in the resilience of the broader ecosystem,” she said.
Other upcoming projects in the area include an 890-hectare housing development in the suburb of Thornlands and a white-water sports venue for the 2032 Olympics.
The federal government hopes to tackle the issue broadly by creating new bio-regional plans for specific regions.
Some Redland City residents fear further impacts on koalas from an upcoming housing project and a sports venue for the 2032 Olympics. (ABC News: Edward Gill)
The idea is to divide regions into “go” and “no go” zones, to avoid developers trying to build in areas with high environmental value.
Dr Lindsay said while the idea had potential, he had doubts about its execution.
“Without ongoing, very clear monitoring and surveillance, including by the communities that are affected … my concern is that will not deliver environmental outcomes.”
The second stage of the EPBC Act changes, including establishing a national environmental watch dog, will commence on July 1.
