Wednesday, 29 October 2025

 Georgie PURCELL (Northern Victoria) (17:58): I move:

That the petition be taken into consideration.

I would first like to start by thanking those in the community who signed this petition, and the Koala Alliance for sponsoring it. It is because of your voices and your commitment that we are here today seeking justice for the koalas of Budj Bim.

Today we bring attention to a deeply problematic and unprecedented action taken by the Victorian government at Budj Bim National Park from 2 April until 25 April this year. To understand why it occurred we need to look at the events that led up to it. On 10 March 2025 a bushfire started by a lightning strike destroyed a significant amount of koala habitat in the park. Koalas were left stranded in remaining trees, some suffering life-threatening burns, with limited access to food and water. In response to aerial assessments, the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) concluded that a secretive aerial shooting operation was necessary to prevent further suffering.

Despite the severity and scale of this operation, only one wildlife veterinarian signed off on this entire cull. This is the first time to our knowledge that aerial culling has ever been approved for this species, and it could set a dangerous precedent. From the limited information we have received, we know that while many koalas were euthanised from helicopters, some were also shot on the ground at point-blank range. Shooting programs are notoriously unreliable, and any missed shots could have caused prolonged suffering to these koalas. There is no way for us to check whether joeys in pouches were able to survive, and given that this took place in a remote area away from public oversight, it is impossible to verify whether it was truly the most humane approach. Wildlife rescuers will confirm that standard protocols for wildlife euthanasia were not consistently followed in this operation, and the community is rightly demanding answers for it. I am not here to dispute that in some cases euthanasia of native animals may be necessary, nor am I questioning the intentions of those involved. But what I am questioning is the methods that were chosen and the secretive nature behind it. Our government should have engaged wildlife rescue groups and the broader community and given these highly skilled volunteer veterinarians and wildlife experts, some of whom are in the gallery today, the opportunity to individually assess and, where necessary, rescue or humanely euthanise the animals with care and with consideration. Yet to this day we still have no answers whatsoever from DEECA.

Budj Bim National Park is surrounded by blue gum plantations, and when these plantations are harvested koalas are displaced and forced into areas that are not safe. Victoria is approaching a critical point for koalas. In New South Wales, Queensland and the ACT koalas are already endangered; here they face multiple threats, and preserving every surviving population is absolutely essential. An independent inquiry is needed to determine whether DEECA followed proper protocols and met the standards expected by the Victorian public. We are asking for simple answers; the international community is asking for simple answers. We must ensure that secretive lethal measures do not occur ever again, that the community is informed and that broader koala conservation strategies, including habitat restoration and protection, are only strengthened. The 10,000 signatures on this petition reflect the deep concern of the Victorian public, where the community has been so determined to get answers that even legal action has been taken against DEECA by Australians For Animals.

Native animals, which existed here long before we ever did, are increasingly treated as nuisances, with lethal control often seen as the easiest solution, the simplest solution, and we never know any details behind it. This approach must change, and that is what this petition calls for today. We are not disputing the difficult circumstances caused by fire, nor whether even koalas could have been suffering. What we are demanding, though, is accountability, transparency, ethical decision-making moving forward and involving the voices of the real experts. We owe it to the koalas, to the wildlife carers and to the citizens of Victoria to ensure that such an unprecedented action is never repeated without public oversight and rigorous scientific review ever again.

 Jacinta ERMACORA (Western Victoria) (18:04): I am pleased to respond to this petition, even though it is about a really sad and tough event. I would like to start by thanking the people that signed the petition and also to express my appreciation for wildlife carers in our community. I think this is a good opportunity to say that. I have had occasion to visit Mosswood Wildlife centre near Koroit, where I live in south-west Victoria, where Tracey and Peter Wilson just do an absolutely marvellous job bringing back to health a whole range of different animals. The fire at Budj Bim on 10 March was unfortunately only one of several terrible fires that have affected our iconic native animals in western Victoria in the last two years. The bushfires in the Grampians and the Little Desert also injured, killed or displaced thousands of native animals. Koalas are particularly vulnerable to bushfires. They cannot run ahead of fires as much as some other animals can, and as well as direct burns they can suffer damage to their airways due to superheated air and smoke. The ongoing impacts of climate change mean that, distressingly, we are going to continue to have to manage the impact of fire on wildlife. It is not something that anybody wants to have to do, but it is the reality we face. We do so informed by expert animal advice in consultation with traditional owners and community.

In this instance the decision to use aerial operations to euthanise the koalas was not taken lightly. The wildlife welfare emergency response was delivered by trained Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) and Parks Victoria staff along with accredited local wildlife rehabilitators and veterinarians from the Wildlife Emergency Support Network. They searched for, assessed and treated impacted wildlife. Those of us who have been fortunate to visit Budj Bim will know that its distinctive lava flows mean that it is extremely rough and rocky. Only 13 per cent of the area affected by fires was accessible on foot, hence the need for the aerial assessment. Supplementary feeding and provision of water were trialled without success. The only viable options for the injured koalas were to leave them to deteriorate and die slowly and painfully or to end their suffering.

The wildlife welfare approach was developed following assessment by an experienced welfare veterinarian. It was then peer reviewed by an independent third-party wildlife ethicist. DEECA provided regular community updates, including with representatives of key wildlife welfare groups, who were informed of the proposed approach. These included Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation, Animals Australia, the RSPCA, Wildlife Victoria, Humane World for Animals and the International Fund for Animal Welfare. These groups were briefed five times throughout the response. I think there was an enormous sense of difficulty in the tough decisions that they had to make.

In the months following the operation, veterinary assessments have confirmed that the overall state of welfare of koalas in the fire-impacted areas of the park is significantly improved. The land manager will continue to monitor wildlife in the national park and undertake koala health check programs. Through the BushBank program the Victorian government has provided up to $1 million to help create additional habitat on private land near the park to help improve food and habitat availability for koalas in the future.

In closing, I would just like to say that, having visited Budj Bim on many occasions, it is very difficult to access. It is a beautiful space, and it is a wonderful refuge for our native animals. I do thank the community and particularly the Budj Bim operators, the Aboriginal people who look after that space and have a big say in how it is run.

 Melina BATH (Eastern Victoria) (18:09): I am pleased to rise to make a contribution on petition 652 that was signed by 7000 Victorians, identifying their severe concern about welfare and the actions of the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action at Budj Bim when 750 koalas were aerially culled or euthanised, depending on which way you want to turn it, as a result of their potentially being unwell and health compromised. It is really disappointing that the government kept this information and did not provide context for the community. It was a found-out-after case, where there was no public consultation, investigation or ability for scientists to come and make some comments. We also know that aerial shooting does not really provide that context. How did the government know that those animals did not have joeys inside or that they were indeed fully euthanised by the time that the shooters left? It really disappoints that public trust and transparency about animal welfare, and I appreciate the people that signed that form.

Indeed I was recently down at Budj Bim. I did not have a lot of time to go for a walk round there, but speaking with Gunditjmara people, the passion that they have for that region and the beauty of it is most understandable. We know that there was bushfire across that landscape, and we know that bushfire can be healing to country and healing, in the past, in keeping wild native populations healthy and in check. But the interruption of some of these fire regimes over many hundreds of years has created a problem – indeed we know that koalas have had them in the past. I have listened to some what I will call koala experts. These were people who presented to an inquiry. It was called the inquiry into ecosystem decline, and that was tabled in Parliament in 2021. We had a koala historian who had studied in great depth around this in terms of the history of koala populations across the nation but in the south-east, and also a gentleman by the name of Dr Jack Pascoe from Melbourne University – and very esteemed. They are two very different people – one was Vic Jurskis, and one was Jack Pascoe – but they actually had very common themes around the cyclical nature of koala populations. They do erupt, I think the term is. When there is good foliage and good food, of course you will see population numbers increasing to a potentially unsustainable level, and when the canopy goes and the food for those koala populations diminishes, then of course you are going to get a bust and you are going to get the decline of those populations. If you add fire to that regime, it certainly can cause the level of tragedy that we saw back in April.

One of the clear things that I want to know about, and I have argued this in this place for a long time, is: does this government actually understand the forests and monitor species within forests? I have argued quite loudly that you cannot save every koala, and we understand that, I believe, but you should be looking at a healthy population on a landscape-wide basis and start planning and monitoring that. But do we know what the population of koalas is in Victoria? Do we understand what our native koalas are doing? Various people will have ideas, but what is this government doing to actually understand those populations, monitor those populations, present that monitored scientific research to the Victorian public and then develop a strategy that is out there?

I believe there is a strategy around koalas, but we have seen that the government back a few years ago had a strategy around the brumbies in the high country, and then when it did not serve them, they abandoned that strategy and then went and aerially culled them. We know that we need to have management of species. We understand that. But I certainly do not think that the government did the right thing in this way. It did it in a subversive way. It also represents that there has been an ecological imbalance. I believe that we should be doing more cool burns within our state forests and national parks to take the foliage away, to create a better environment, so that we will not be seeing this sort of tragedy occur for these vast numbers of koalas.

 Sarah MANSFIELD (Western Victoria) (18:14): Can I start by thanking Ms Purcell for bringing this debate on in this chamber and thanking the thousands of people who signed this petition. I, along with many in my community in western Victoria, were shocked to learn that earlier this year hundreds of koalas were shot from helicopters in Budj Bim National Park following devastating bushfires and storms that destroyed large areas of their habitat. The Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action justified these actions on the basis that koalas were burnt, injured and starving and that euthanising them was the only humane option. Given the challenging terrain and lack of accessibility, a decision was made to undertake aerial culling, something that has not occurred for koalas before. We understand that staff involved genuinely felt that they were making the best decisions they could in the circumstances; many were distressed by the choices before them. But what happened raises serious questions and speaks to a broader failure of this government to plan for and protect koalas and other native species. It also speaks to serious failures in transparency. They failed to engage meaningfully with community members, and communities are now left trying to put the pieces together about exactly what happened here.

This event was in fact entirely preventable and predictable. We should not be in a situation where hundreds of koalas impacted by climate disasters are being killed like this. It speaks to Labor’s broad failures to protect wildlife and nature. For years Labor has allowed native forest logging, deforestation, clearing of land and grasslands, as well as fuelling climate disasters by continuing to burn coal and gas, all of which have contributed to the destruction of koala habitat. Rising CO₂ is also changing the composition and reducing the nutritional quality of gum leaves. Koalas are under threat right across the country and are being pushed further and further south. There is a distinct possibility that Victoria could be the last remaining state with any wild koalas, and even across our state there are many areas where they are on the brink of extinction, as we have seen with the Gordon plantation koalas near Ballarat. Despite the so-called abundance of koalas in the south-west of Victoria, these populations are being pushed into smaller and smaller areas of habitat where there is not enough food. They are also being pushed into urban areas where they are at increasing risk of road strike. Many are seeking out the plentiful food and shelter available in blue gum plantations. And while we strongly support plantations as an alternative to native forest logging, when they have been harvested there have been numerous instances of koalas being injured or killed due to lack of appropriate management plans. And then there is the risk of fire. When so much of the remaining koala population is forced into such a concentrated area, all it takes is one significant bushfire to wipe out a huge proportion of them, as we saw in Budj Bim National Park.

If we continue with business as usual, there is the very real possibility that Australia will lose native species like koalas, yet Victorian Labor refuses to release a long-completed review of the state’s outdated wildlife laws, which are failing to protect wildlife and are not fit for purpose. This sort of incident is a perfect example of what happens when you do not have adequate wildlife protections. It is also yet another example of the secrecy and lack of transparency that has become a hallmark of this government.

This tragedy is a wake-up call. We need Labor to take wildlife and habitat protection seriously, or these tragedies will continue to occur. There is no way that they can say that they did not know about it, that they were not told that this was a crisis that they needed to do something about. Time and time again the community, including many of the people who signed this petition, have begged the government to do something more about protecting wildlife, about protecting our nature, about protecting native species like koalas. Yet the government continues to ignore them. It is high time that they listen to the community, that they are open with the community. I really commend the petitioners’ calls for a further investigation into what occurred in Budj Bim with these tragic events. We need a lot more action from this government.

I also use this opportunity to remind them we need that wildlife review released, we need our wildlife laws updated because we are running out of time. We are going to lose many species, including our koalas, and I think it would be an absolute tragedy to sit by and watch that occur.

 Nick McGOWAN (North-Eastern Metropolitan) (18:19): Seldom does any good happen behind the cloak of secrecy. That is certainly the case with this disaster, and it is nothing short of a disaster. I too would like to congratulate Georgie Purcell for bringing this forward, and the 7000 Victorians, perhaps even some from further afield, probably from right across the country and right across the planet. I was aghast when I first learned that we were perhaps the first state in the world to ever tackle a problem of this nature in this way. The fact is that it was a decision of this government to kill some 1061 koalas from an aerial assault – an aerial assault; let us not mince words. There was no possible way that that gunman could have understood or comprehended the individual animals and their role in the ecosystem when they shot one by one by one, up to tens, up to hundreds, up to 1061 koalas culled – killed – from an aerial assault. I mean, it just lacks common sense. I do not understand to this day how this has not been front-page headline news right across Victoria and right across Australia.

What we were told in the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee process is that there was an assessment. There was a ground assessment of some 1091. There was a further aerial assessment of 1128. But then we were told, on the same hand, that it was feared that officers themselves could not go into the park because 13 per cent of the park, it was claimed, was inaccessible to officers and there was a risk of trees falling on the assessors. So they did not actually bother to send people in to investigate, is what they are saying to us. And somehow the bureaucracy thought that it was okay to simply sign off on the culling – the killing – of 1061 koalas. You might say that having done that abominable act, perhaps they went in and saw for themselves that they were actually done humanely, that that sniper – that gunman – actually had great aim and knew what he or she was doing. I do not want to individualise this, because it is not about that individual. That individual was doing their job, a job they were paid to do by the state government. But what we know, because of the public accounts and estimates process, is of all the koalas killed, 1061, do you know how many they recovered? It is breathtaking. It is a scandal. They told us they recovered six, and then a further eight in total. Six, then eight, so 14 of the 1061 koalas were ever recovered, and they were not all dead. And that is just at that smallest sample size. I mean, this truly goes well beyond a scandal. It is an illustration of how a bureaucracy and multiple layers in that bureaucracy can lose their way, perhaps with good intentions, perhaps with the bushfires – but do not use those as an excuse or as a shield for poor behaviour or silly decisions and just bad decisions, both for our native environment but also for the biodiversity and for our broader environment.

And then we get to the broader questions of how many people were involved, because time and again we have been told different things, which actually speaks to what the petitioners are calling for – that is, an independent investigation, because none of us in this chamber I think for a second are convinced we have anything near the truth. As my colleague in the chamber has said today too, there was no transparency around any of this. No-one actually oversaw this from an independent standpoint, and no-one therefore can say that this actually happened humanely. What an unmitigated disaster. I will leave my comments there, because I would like anyone else in the chamber that might want the opportunity to speak to do so, and we have very little time left.

 Georgie PURCELL (Northern Victoria) (18:23): I would like to thank all members for their contributions today. It is interesting to finally get a response from the government on this issue, and it is unfortunate that it takes the signatures of thousands and thousands of Victorians to finally get them to say something about this, because that is all we have been asking for – to explain this decision, and if they believe in it so strongly, to justify this decision. This petition is not calling for anything but an inquiry, and if they really, genuinely believed those excuses that they have just given us now, they would let that be heard in an open forum. They would tell us that information. They would have the people front up that stand by these decisions.

As we know, there was only one vet who oversaw this operation. What we do know is that we have heard from multiple other vets who are absolutely appalled at how this went ahead, and they have not even been able to access this information as those experts. We really want to reiterate that this is what happens when we have a department that is not just responsible for the protection of wildlife but at the same time responsible for the slaughter and the destruction of wildlife that are all too often being seen as nuisances or problems in this state. For the most part, koalas have escaped that. Now we are facing a time when even they are not exempt from the cruelty and the secrecy of the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action. The reality is the impacts of the climate crisis are going to mean more fires: we are going to have more events like this. That is why we need to support the experts, who are calling for change, and our carers and our shelters more than ever. These people possess the skills, knowledge and experience to speak to the government in complex situations where wildlife do need care, and they have been shut out from this operation. They are demanding answers. We are demanding answers. I think the whole chamber besides the government wants this inquiry, and we implore them to listen.

Motion agreed to.