2015-03-03 Planning & Organisation Agenda

PLANNING & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA   3 MARCH 2015




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PLANNING & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                            3 MARCH 2015

                 However the practice of sending koalas back to where they came from may
                 mean that koalas in dangerous environments are returned to meet further
                 misfortune.

                 In discussions about translocation with experts at the Australia Zoo Wildlife
                 Hospital, it appears that:
                a) Koalas tend to be faithful to their home ranges and will attempt to return if
                    moved out of them. Translocating koalas over 4 years of age, and
                    particularly males, can be problematic because they have a tendency to
                    want to find their original territory.
                 b) It is not a simple matter to transfer koalas from different habitats. For
                    example, koalas in seaside locales have very different nutrient loads to
                    those in hinterland environments. Trying to put a coastal koala into an
                    inland forest and vice-versa is not considered good practice. The experts
                    also warned that coastal koalas are considerably less healthy as a result
                    of the poor nutrients in trees growing on sandy soil.
                Translocation is a complex issue, and rarely the easy solution that some
                 people may believe. Noosa Council will need to take a cautious approach to
                translocation proposals.
                GOVERNMENT REQUIREMENTS
                At the national level, environment protection of the Queensland, NSW and
                ACT koala populations as vulnerable species has strengthened the existing
                state protections for koalas. National environment protection doesn't mean
                that all activities in these areas will require federal environmental approval.
                Only projects likely to have a very significant impact on the koala population in
                Queensland, New South Wales and the ACT will need to be assessed under
                 national environment law.

                The federal government has released referral Guidelines to assist proponents
                and decision makers in navigating the requirements of fhe Environmental
                Protection and Biodiversity Act 1999 (EPBC Act) as it relates to koala
                conservation.

                At the state level, the South East Queensland Koala Conservation State
                Planning Regulatory Provisions 2010 (SPRP) applies to local planning
                 instruments. This incorporates priority koala assessable development areas.
                 Parts of Noosa are included in this designation. The SPRP regulates
                assessable development only, where that development meets certain triggers.
                There are a range of developments to which the provisions do not apply - e.g.
                self-assessable developments or those that are declared to be significant
                 projects under the State Development and Public Works Organisation Act
                 1977, etc.

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