Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek has confirmed the new Labor government will spend $3 million on a Hunter breeding program to help protect koalas from extinction.
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Ms Plibersek officially opened Port Stephens Koala Hospital on Thursday and made good on an election promise to help fund the first year of the five-year breeding program.
The hospital is partnering with University of Newcastle and Taronga Conservation Society on the $14.6 million project.
Koala hospital president Ron Land said the money would help create a bio bank of frozen koala sperm.
"The aim is to protect the species from climate change-driven changes to habitat and man-made and natural disasters," he said.
"If numbers continue to plummet, Taronga Conservation Society will have an ever-expanding bio bank for future breeding programs."
Mr Land said the government funding would help pay for veterinarians and infrastructure at the hospital.
Ms Plibersek said climate change, disease and habitat loss had caused a "drastic decline in population numbers of koalas", which are now listed as endangered in NSW, Queensland and the ACT.
The government has committed $75 million to koala conservation in the next four years.
"I am excited to be opening the Port Stephens Koala Hospital and to see first-hand the work that is being done to protect and revive this iconic species," Ms Plibersek said.
"It's hard to imagine Australia without koalas. But, because of habitat destruction, climate change and disease, they're at genuine risk of extinction."
Ms Plibersek last month released the State of the Environment Report, which showed the number of threatened ecological communities in Australia had grown by 20 per cent in five years. The number of threatened species had grown by almost 10 per cent.
The Australian Koala Foundation estimates koala numbers fell from about 80,000 in the wild in 2018 to no more than 58,000 in 2021, and possibly as few as 32,000.
The AKF estimated NSW had suffered the biggest three-year decline, losing 41 per cent of its koalas.
"The Australian government is determined to protect Australian species from the ongoing threat of extinction," Ms Plibersek said.
"That's why we've committed $224.5 million to establish the Saving Native Species Program that will boost protection for native species, including the koala, combat invasive species and improve conservation planning."
The 2019-2020 summer bushfires affected 3.7 million hectares of koala habitat on Australia's east coast.
Michael Parris
Michael Parris reports on politics for the Newcastle Herald. He started at the Herald in 1994 after working in the ABC Newcastle newsroom. Michael spent much of his career as a sub-editor before moving into political reporting in 2017. He was a finalist in the Sports Australia national media awards for his stories about a male-only tennis club in Newcastle. He has covered NSW and federal elections, state and federal budgets and local politics. He has also written extensively about the COVID-19 pandemic with a special focus on data analysis and the effects of lockdowns on the Hunter community.
Michael Parris reports on politics for the Newcastle Herald. He started at the Herald in 1994 after working in the ABC Newcastle newsroom. Michael spent much of his career as a sub-editor before moving into political reporting in 2017. He was a finalist in the Sports Australia national media awards for his stories about a male-only tennis club in Newcastle. He has covered NSW and federal elections, state and federal budgets and local politics. He has also written extensively about the COVID-19 pandemic with a special focus on data analysis and the effects of lockdowns on the Hunter community.
