New polling shows overwhelming support to protect koala habitat

New polling has revealed that Australian voters across the political spectrum overwhelmingly believe governments have an obligation to protect koala habitat.

The polling, commissioned by The Australia Institute, found 82 per cent of Australians believe governments have an obligation to protect koala habitats.

Only three per cent said governments have that obligation only if they are paid to do so. The polling comes alongside a new working paper by University College London Associate Professor Fergus Green, which takes aim at a proposal by the New South Wales Government to sell carbon credits in return for creating a national park to protect koala habitat.

Meanwhile, on August 18, a Senate vote put forward by the Nationals will take place on a disallowance motion on the Improved Native Forest Management (INFM) method.

The Australia Institute’s Head of Fossil Fuel Transition, Louise Morris, said the results show that Australians want NSW Labor to keep a decade-long promise to deliver the Great Koala National Park.

“NSW Labor has promised a koala national park for over a decade, and now, at the last minute, Premier Minns says he won’t protect koalas unless he gets paid by polluters to do it,” Ms Morris said.

“The key scam of carbon credits is to get paid to do something you were going to do anyway – protect ancient forests you already said you would protect, buy more efficient machines that you already needed to buy.”

On his podcast, ‘What’s the Point?’, Australia Institute co-CEO Dr Richard Denniss said the koala national park was a prime example of a good idea being used to justify a bad idea.

“This koala national park is one of the bigger frauds in environmental history,” he said.