Koalas, like many of Australia’s native species, don’t have the luxury of time. It is the responsibility of governments to protect wildlife by creating and enforcing legislation that shields animals from harm and cruelty and ensures they survive into the future. Strong laws set a clear standard of care and enables acts of cruelty to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

In our campaigns our aim is not only to raise awareness and educate but also create behaviour and political change. To save Australia’s unique and rare species we must factor wildlife into our decision making.

Victoria’s primary wildlife legislation is more than 50 years old, and despite over a decade of pressure from community organisations calling for updates, the government has failed to act. Not only must we continue to pressure the government to modernise these laws, but we also need to ask why there is such resistance to strengthening protections for native wildlife

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.

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, it “makes it difficult for informed decisions to be made”. Koala Alliance couldn’t agree more with this.

Governments don’t hide reports with good outcomes! Release the report. 

One experienced rescuer, Rob, working with a trained koala detection dog, shared his experience:

“After attending many previous bushfires, we felt somewhat prepared. From day one, it was clear the destruction was unlike anything we’d seen before. Wildlife lay across paddocks, frozen in motion by the firestorm. In the early days, we found survivors—but many had severe burns and smoke inhalation. Timing is everything in rescue: food, water, shelter. These animals had nothing”.

“The government shutdown prevented so much. When we found a young koala two weeks into recovery, it broke me. That he survived that long was a miracle. That finding him even a day earlier might have saved him is heartbreaking. He should have been a symbol of hope—but instead became a footnote”.

“Through it all, there were moments of joy—finding healthy survivors, working with landowners who cared deeply. But it’s the ones we couldn’t save that stay with you.”

The Victorian government has said a report titled, The Status of Victoria’s Koala Population: Surveys to Estimate Abundance, Genetic Diversity and Koala Health, will be a comprehensive summary of koala status in Victoria. It publication is months overdue.

One of the authors, ecologist Dr Desley Whisson, recently spoke out publicly, frustrated by the delays, quoted as saying, “concerns regarding “problems” with how the agency is managing the species, “I really fear that without effective management, we could end up losing our koalas. It doesn’t take much for a big fire to wipe out big populations, and I’m concerned about the health of koalas where they occur at low densities”.

Similarly, International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) head of programs, Josie Sharrad said, “People assume there are more of them here, so we’re not going to lose them. But koalas that are more abundant are facing starvation, lack of habitat, disease, and inbreeding. So it’s kind of like Victoria’s shameful secret,”

This report must be released prior to the 2026 Victorian election.

The last government koala population estimates were announced in 2020 — six years ago. The Victorian Government is sitting on the most up-to-date population statistics, but it won’t release them because an election is coming. The government just claims koala’s are abundant and thriving. But that isn’t the experience of many rescuers and carers.

People we speak to who live in areas where koalas remain say things like, “We used to see them all the time, but we haven’t seen any in a long time” or, “We used to have them here, but with all the development, not anymore.”

As far as I can see, the Victorian Government has mismanaged the landscape for far too long, often at the expense of our native wildlife. What is the true cost of Victoria’s blue gum industry?

What we do to nature, we ultimately do to ourselves. The loss of biodiversity, the degradation of ecosystems, and the decline of native species come with consequences that affect us all.

It’s time for Australia to wake up. This colonial mindset of endlessly exploiting the land for short-term gain must come to an end. We need to work with Country, not against it, creating solutions that benefit both people and nature. A healthy environment isn’t an obstacle to prosperity; it’s the foundation of it.