Darling Downs Environment Council calls for updated koala mapping
Environmental groups are pushing for the council to tighten protections and update koala habitat maps to prevent gaps and loopholes in the planning scheme from being exploited.
Development
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An embattled argument between environmentalists and developers on the outskirts of a growing Toowoomba suburb has resulted in council seeking updated protections for the region’s koala habitat.
Toowoomba has been on the forefront of the debate between trees versus development for more than a decade as the burgeoning city expands into its outer suburbs, particularly along its northern and southern edges of the Great Dividing Range.
In September 2024, Toowoomba Councillors passed a Temporary Local Planning Instrument (TLPI) to strengthen the protection of significant vegetation in the region.
Currently developers must meet the environmental requirements based on the 2012 Planning Scheme, which was based on the state government’s environmental laws at the time.
Welcoming the passing of the protections, DDEC co-ordinator Ahri Tallon said stronger, clearer protections in the TLPI were needed to prevent developers from exploiting gaps and loopholes before the new planning scheme would be released.
He also called for Toowoomba Regional Council to ensure koala maps were updated to provide more protection for significant areas of vegetations, stricter enforcement on developers should they clear land without prior approval and would include public consultation on the updates.
Deputy Mayor Rebecca Vonhoff said in 2020 the state government introduced a development code for south east Queensland koala habitat areas, but the conservation plan did not include the majority of Toowoomba Regional Council.
In September 2021, councillors requested the Darling Downs be included in the state’s koala conservation strategy and that “accurate koala mapping of the region was needed to better reflect the situation on the ground”, Ms Vonhoff said.
“We know that conserving significant vegetation is time sensitive and that this is important to our community so we’re working with focus and energy,” she said.
The TLPI was passed after controversial developments were given the tick of approval by council in the same month’s sittings.
The first being the 220-lot subdivision along Reis Rd in Highfields, and a blueberry farm in Geham.
The draft version of the TLPI is scheduled to be ratified by council in December 2024, and afterwards will be submitted to the state government.
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