“War” over Koalas in Australia - 21st September 2020

The state government is fighting over a koala policy in New South Wales, Australia.

The disagreement, which has been called a "koala war", relates to a new law. It was passed in December, and aims to protect koala habitats.

Koalas are well known Australian animals. They are often confusingly called 'koala-bears' but are, in fact, tree-climbing marsupials. They are only found in the eucalyptus forests of south-eastern and eastern Australia. Koalas are classed as a 'vulnerable' species because these habitats are in danger.

The Australian bushfires of 2019-2020 killed or harmed around three billion animals across the country. Many of the forests where koalas live burned. In June, an inquiry found that koalas could be extinct in New South Wales by 2050 unless urgent action is taken.

The new policy makes land development more difficult in order to protect koala habitats. Landowners must now think about the effect on koala populations before cutting down trees to build houses. This has been controversial because farmers fear that this could affect the value of their land.

Australia's New South Wales is run by a coalition government. The junior coalition partner, the National Party, is against the koala policy. Deputy Premier John Barilaro says he feels that the policy puts too much responsibility on property owners. The ruling coalition party, the Liberal Party says the restrictions are necessary and supported by the community. Mr Barilaro has said his party will no longer support the government.

Meanwhile, conservationists are concerned that the policy does not enough to protect the animals.