September 23, 2021
Toowoomba Regional Council will support the first phase of the South-East Queensland Koala Conservation Strategy.
In addition, Council will advise the State Government that it wishes to see the Koala Conservation Strategy expanded to incorporate the Darling Downs following consultation with local communities.
Cr Megan O’Hara Sullivan said Council has also agreed to advise the Environment Minister Meaghan Scanlon that accurate koala mapping of the region was needed to better reflect the situation on the ground.
Cr O’Hara Sullivan said the Department of Environment and Science was seeking local government support for the first phase of the Implementation Plan 2020-2022, which involved limited actions in the Toowoomba Region.
The strategy applies to the Toowoomba Urban Extent that is in the boundary of the South East Queensland Regional Plan 2017.
“The State Government has mapped almost 9000ha of koala habitat in the Toowoomba Region, which is a small geographic area in south-east Queensland,” Cr O’Hara Sullivan said.
“To support protection of this habitat, Council is undertaking work that supports actions in the plan that are related to planning scheme updates for habitat protection as required by other Queensland legislation to provide increased protection to koala habitat areas in South East Queensland.”
Cr Bill Cahill said development applications that proposed interfering with koala habitat in core koala habitat areas outside koala priority areas must be referred to the State Assessment and Referral Agency for assessment.
He said exemptions included clearing a development footprint up to 500 sq m, clearing for firebreaks, maintenance and activities that are considered reasonable to allow landholders to live on and manage their properties.
“Due to the Toowoomba Regional Council being only partially in the South East Queensland Regional Plan, it has the smallest area of koala habitat of all the South East Queensland local authorities (1.2 per cent of the total South East Queensland core koala habitat),” Cr Cahill said.
“Council’s own work being undertaken for the preparation of a new Planning Scheme incorporates a study into matters of local environmental significance, which covers all of the Toowoomba Region.”
