Photos reveal grim 'clean up' as koalas flee secretive highway project
The location of koalas on the Gold Coast is 'no secret', so questions have been raised about why documents have been deemed ecologically sensitive and redacted.
Details of a government project known to be directly harming koalas are being withheld from the public, frustrating animal rescuers who have dubbed themselves the “clean-up crew”. Other wildlife volunteers have anonymously shared pictures with Yahoo News to highlight their concerns.
They show isolated examples of dead and injured koalas found around the Gold Coast after prime habitat was bulldozed for a new multi-billion dollar highway.
Rescuers believe there has been an increase in koala incidents since work on the Coomera Connector began in March, 2023. But the true scale of its impact on koalas is unknown because Queensland authorities have redacted the pages of reports that document their mitigation efforts, arguing they are ecologically sensitive.
This has disappointed koala advocates like Karina Waterman, who heads a local collective Coomera Conservation Group. “There’s an annual compliance report. But virtually all of the data that would give us an idea of how the project is tracking isn’t available,” she said.
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Most of the destruction associated with the Coomera Connector isn’t visible from the road, and Gold Coast residents often only notice it when they travel along public transport lines that mirror the route of the road.
On the outskirts of the project, wildlife rescuers are regularly being called to help displaced koalas. It's believed they're often dispersed into neighbouring streets where they fall victim to vehicle strikes and dog attacks.
Because the koala population is endangered the Coomera Connector's manager, the Queensland Department of Transport (TMR), had to refer it for assessment with the federal government, which is also a partner in funding the road. It was approved with several conditions designed to lessen its impact.
TMR has purchased properties to "offset" its destruction of koala habitat, and under the terms of its agreement with the federal government, it is allowed to relocate those which cannot be dispersed. However, it remains unclear how many have been moved.
The department confirmed since the $2.16 billion Stage One between Coomera and Nerang began, over 280 koalas have received specialised veterinary care, with 75 per cent being treated for chlamydia.
It told Yahoo the admissions had a positive impact on many of those animals, saying “this treatment has resulted in a significant reduction of diseased koalas, with 53 per cent of diseased koalas in the Pimpama River Conservation Area now down to only 1.6 per cent.”
And it confirmed habitat surveys have been completed across over 700 hectares within and adjacent to the corridor. "Additionally, over 3,500 vet exams have been carried out," it said.
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Waterman believes the tracking and monitoring is a “good thing”, but it doesn’t prevent koalas ending up killed or injured. “Most people seem to think because they're being tracked and monitored it means constant eyes are being kept on them and they're going to be kept out of harm's way. And that's not the case,” she told Yahoo News.
Koalas directly impacted by the project are easy to spot as they’ve been fitted with blue tracking collars, which allow them to be monitored and tracked.
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Confronting images other rescuers have shared with Yahoo show many animals living close to the project have come to harm. One shows a blue-collared animal caught in a soccer net, while another documents a mother running along a backyard fence with a baby on its back, a third has been bloodied after a dog attack. A fourth photo, taken in the northern Gold Coast suburb of Helensvale shows an animal dead near the gates of the train line.
Amy Wregg is a professional rescuer with WIRES, and a volunteer with WildCare. Her iconic photo of a koala watching its habitat destroyed to make way for the the Coomera Connector went viral in 2023.
Since works began, she’s found it harder to find locations that are safe for rehabilitated koalas to be released.
“The habitat is less and less so we're struggling to find release locations. Many of the areas are already overpopulated. It’s disappointing that more isn’t done to protect our wildlife,” she said.
“We’re the clean up crew, so to speak, and it’s frustrating that they’re building a motorway through an endangered species’ habitat.”
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What is ecologically sensitive in the reports?
The Federal Department of Environment (DCCEEW) did not provide a direct response to Yahoo’s inquiries. While TMR supplies it with yearly compliance reports, it confirmed it is prevented from releasing them because they have been deemed ecologically sensitive.
Reports are withheld from the public when it’s decided the release of data could have an adverse effect on the animal or its environment. TMR said the redactions are “in accordance with approval conditions” placed on it by DCCEEW.
TMR may have good reasons for withholding information, but it has not responded directly to a question from Yahoo about what specifically is ecologically sensitive about its operations. And it's the blanket approach to withholding information that's frustrating Waterman.
“It just boggles my mind that everything has been deemed ecologically sensitive. My understanding is that ecologically sensitive is when you've got a rare species and you don’t want people to know where it is,” she said.
“But there are koalas there and we know where they are, it’s not a secret.”
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