Kangaroo Island halts logging while government investigators unravel what went wrong

KI logging has halted while investigators visit the site of where the koala carnage happened.

Logging operations on Kangaroo Island have come to a crashing halt while investigators aim to understand “where the fault lies” following the koala carnage situation.

Environment minister Susan Close has revealed her future plans for the blue gum plantation site located on the west side of the island and for the koalas.

Concerns for the native animal’s safety procedures – namely the koala spotter system – were first raised in 2021, she told parliament.

But the department’s investigations could not find evidence supporting misconduct, she told MPs in an urgent statement to parliament on Wesdnesday.

A koala clings to a tree around others that have been cut down. Picture: 7NEWS

However, since 7NEWS aired the footage of loggers taking down blue gum trees as koalas cling to the branches – the department has sufficient evidence to pursue change.

Ms Close said investigators are in KI gathering evidence, as well as speaking to the KI Animal Network to get a first-hand account of the injuries sustained to the animals.

“We’ve got investigators on the ground right now in Kangaroo Island, not only looking at the work the company’s been doing but hearing from the people who’ve witnessed what’s gone wrong,” she said.

The Environment Department will be increasing the number of unannounced inspections on the plantation site once logging resumes.

With RSPCA investigators also on scene, on Monday, Ms Close will meet with the CEO of Kiland in Sydney to plan a strategy which prevents unnecessary harm to wildlife.

“We’ve put this on the radar of the National Board that is responsible for the oversight of koala protection,” Ms Close said.

“We’re putting it on the radar on the national level to see if there are better ways of addressing how we have the interaction between the felling of timber and protecting our precious koalas.”

The Environment Department will be increasing the number of unannounced inspections on the plantation site once logging resumes and the original footage has been requested for further study.

A spokesperson from Australian Agribusiness Group (AAGIM) told The Advertiser their business is “operating well beyond what is considered best practice for wildlife management”. Picture: Supplied.

Additionally, Ms Close has announced she will be putting forward a new regulation which will allow the environment MP to quickly stop unsafe operations.

“(I’ll) bring in a regulation in the next couple of days to allow the government to halt activity that is likely to hurt a protected animal and isn’t being done in a way that is compliant with the management plan,” she said.

“When we’ve got that through, we’ll be able to deal with this kind of situation far more firmly.”

One of the koalas injured on Kangaroo Island. Picture: Supplied

A spokesperson from Australian Agribusiness Group (AAGIM) told The Advertiser their business is “operating well beyond what is considered best practice for wildlife management”.

“AAGIM employs five full-time koala spotters whose role is dedicated to spotting koalas ahead of harvesting and providing this feedback to harvest operators,” the spokesperson said.

“Each koala spotter is equipped with essential equipment.

“In the past 15 months, koala spotters have found and protected more than 4,000 koalas. Any injured animals are taken to either wildlife refuges or veterinarian practices.”

The Advertiser have contacted Kiland for comment.