The koala is an Australian icon, and maybe the number one Ambassador species on the global stage. Yet decades of neglect are driving it to extinction.

Koala Alliance thought for some time about the content of our page informing you about this unique and wonderful species. Would we tell you about its historic and current range, what it eats, its behaviours? These things can be found elsewhere.

Instead, and tragically, our “About Koalas” page will highlight the current reality for this unique species.

Rather than investing in doing all we can to help a species we should feel privileged to have in our own backyard, for decades we have ignored the harm being done to this gentle tree dweller, leaving volunteers to pick up the pieces of the little that is left.

While we are an organisation that has a national focus, at this point most of our effort is centred on Victoria. Why? At least in other states and at a federal level, governments are acknowledging the crisis facing koalas. But the Victorian government is trying to maintain the illusion and delusion of koala abundance in the state.

Calls mount for the Victorian government to release the $850,000 koala report commissioned several years ago and completed in 2025.

The report titled, The Status of Victoria’s Koala Population: Surveys to Estimate Abundance, Genetic Diversity and Koala Health, is supposedly a comprehensive summary of koala status in Victoria and covers 1. Health & Disease, 2. Genetic Diversity & Inbreeding, 3. Proof of Abundance (or not as the case may be), 4. Distribution, 5. Habitat Status, and 6. A roadmap for preventing the species’ demise.

DEECA has refused to answer any questions from Yahoo News about its findings or when the report will be released. Accusations about a lack of transparency have long plagued the conservative Victorian governments. One state MP said recently, “But the biggest problem right now in Victoria is a lack of transparency”, continuing, “makes it difficult for informed decisions to be made”. Koala Alliance couldn’t agree more with this.

The consequences of this lack of transparency and little progress litters the Victorian Koala Management Strategy Implementation Plan. From actionable item “commencement dates”, “completion dates” etc are nothing more that a sea of “TBC” (To Be Confirmed) and “Linked Actions” (reliant on previous work that never seems to be completed).

So, the best the best thing the Koala Alliance can do to inform you about koalas, is to highlight their current treatment, which is beyond reckless.

We call for the release of the Koala files and Report.

In the words of US environmental Gus Speth, “I used to think that top environmental problems were biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse and climate change. I thought that thirty years of good science could address these problems. I was wrong. The top environmental problems are selfishness, greed and apathy, and to deal with these we need a cultural and spiritual transformation.”

We cannot stand by and let the Victorian government’s greed and apathy cause the koala’s demise in the state.

This is what you need to know about Koala in Victoria and throughout Australia.

To know more, check out our Koala Myths summary document