2015-07-21 Planning & Organisation Committee Agenda

PLANNING & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                     21 JULY 2015


There is currently a range of koala mapping and data sources from State Government, SEQ
Catchments, Australian Koala Foundation, University of Qld and specific koala interest groups.
Building on this information, further mapping and data collection will help provide up to date
information on Noosa’s koalas. On ground verification has started with the University of Sunshine
Coast’s koala detection dog ‘Maya’. Discussions have also been had with the University on a
proposed three year Australian Research Council (ARC) joint project with the Noosa Biosphere
Trust. The project is aimed at better understanding the health and viability of koala populations in
and around urban areas.

An important component of a Koala Conservation Plan is the development of koala ‘threat’
mapping which identifies localities that have a history of koala mortality or injury from car
collision, dog attack or disease. This information allows Council to plan and design measures to
mitigate these impacts at a local level.

Previous Council Consideration
Ordinary Meeting, 12 March 2015, Item 1, Page 5
That Council note the report by the Principal Environment Officer to the Planning & Organisation
Committee Meeting dated 3 March 2015 and:
A.   Undertake public consultation through Council’s ‘Your Say Noosa’ webpage to inform the
     development of Noosa Shire Koala Policy and through targeted consultation with key
     interest groups; and
B.   Endorse the development of a Noosa Shire Koala Policy.

Finance & Risk
Council has allocated funding in the 2015/2016 budget for koala threat mapping ($8,500) and
further research on the distribution and occurrence of koalas using Maya, the koala detection dog
($8,300).

Until a Koala Conservation Plan is completed, final costs of implementing the policy are not
known.

Consultation
External Consultation - Community & Stakeholder
Public consultation through Your Say Noosa portal - eighteen submissions received.

The following key stakeholders were consulted:
   Koala diaries
   Australian Koala Foundation
   Koala rescue
   Koala Tracker
   Queensland koala crusaders
   Department of Environment & Heritage, Threatened Species Unit
   SEQ Catchments
   University of the Sunshine Coast




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