Labor Party pledges $45k to build ten new portable koala enclosures

The Labor Party has revealed their plan to help sick and injured koalas at the Currumbin Wildlife Hospital.

WILDLIFE carers will be able to look after sick and injured koalas in their own backyards under the Labor Party plan to build 10 transportable enclosures.

Environment Minister Steven Miles this morning pledged $45,000 to build the ten enclosures in demountables to go in carers backyards.

The Currumbin Wildlife Hospital koala enclosures have been regularly full this year with 2017 expected to see more than 500 sick and injured koalas taken to the hospital.

“(The hospital) was telling me one of the biggest problems was the capacity for the rehabilitation,” Dr Miles said.

Queensland Minister for Environment and Heritage Protection and Minister for National Parks and the Great Barrier Reef, Steven Miles (left) and Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk (right) are seen with Nala the Koala at Daisy Hill Koala centre in Brisbane.

“A koala after it has been injured can take on average two months to recover properly.

“Often that means having to drive koalas from here to the north coast allow koalas to have that recovery time.”

Dr Miles said the idea came from Currumbin Wildilfe Hospital Senior Vet Michael Pyne.

The enclosures will be able to be completely transportable which means carers would not have to contend with building an expensive and permanent enclosures.

Currumbin Wildlife Hospital Senior Vet Michael Pyne. Picture: Lea Emery

“If this plan can work, it’s the kind of thing we can roll out right across the south east,” Dr Miles said.

Dr Pyne said 10 years ago the hospital was only receiving about 28 koalas a year.

“These enclosures will be used for koalas that have been examined by us, and need long-term rehabilitation that does not involve ongoing veterinary treatment,” Dr Pyne said.

The state government and Gold Coast City Council is in talks to create another koala reserve on the Coast to protect the native animals from the growing population.

Dr Pyne said while more habitat was always welcomed, new enclosures would be needed as a majority of koalas come to the hospital with disease rather than injuries.