To lose one tourism icon is a misfortune. To lose two? Carelessness

From 1968 to 1980, Qantas released dozens of TV ads featuring a depressed koala, “Teddy”, who complained in a sad (American accented) voice about the number of tourists coming to Australia, who were disturbing his peace.

He blamed the airline for its excellent service and frequent flights. “I hate Qantas,” he grumbled.

Teddy’s successors, about to leave Brisbane for San Diego, pictured with Qantas cabin crew member (“flight hostess”) Elizabeth Yates in 1976.Credit: Qantas

Teddy lived in the San Diego Zoo, which explains his accent. But his cantankerous cuteness became a successful lure to bring American tourists here.

Australian tourism has ridden on the back of the koala for many years. What visitor could resist the thought of meeting one of these adorable marsupials up close and cuddly in their natural environment?

There’s always been some false advertising involved. Despite the (perhaps intentional) impression that koalas hang off branches in every suburban garden, they have always been tricky to spot in the wild.

I’ve never seen a koala “crossing the road” despite all the roadside signs. Maybe that’s a good thing, because death by car is one of the causes of koala population decline.

Being arboreal, they live up high, and need very specific trees and habitat to survive and socialise.

Koala populations continue to be threatened by several factors. Credit: Destination NSW

But now – in the ACT, NSW and Queensland at least, where they’ve been declared endangered – they are being pushed perilously close to extinction due to habitat loss from agriculture, logging, mining and urban sprawl.

Bushfires, stress-related diseases such as chlamydia and those deaths on the roads when their habitat is developed further, decimates populations.

The problem threatens to get worse. According to a recent Australian Conservation Foundation report, proposed coal-mining projects in NSW and Queensland (awaiting federal approval) could clear a combined 11,644 hectares of koala habitat, despite a national recovery plan for the koala.

Although the federal government is committed to establishing a koala national park on the NSW north coast, logging within the proposed boundary has continued apace since the Minns government took office in 2023.

It seems as if our national icon is no match for logging and mining interests (nor are we, as our governments make clear.)

If the potential loss of our koalas (and numbats, eastern quolls and pygmy possums among many others) is distressing, consider the Great Barrier Reef.

To lose one tourism icon may be regarded as a misfortune, but to lose two of them looks like carelessness, to borrow from Oscar Wilde.

Bleaching evident from above on Eyrie Reef in the northern Great Barrier Reef.Credit: Images courtesy of George Roff, CSIRO

Many are aware that the world’s largest coral system is under threat but perhaps not aware of the extent. Promotional material for the reef continues to show brilliantly coloured corals and brightly darting fish. I was north of Cairns last year and the corals were bleached grey as far as my eye could see, although scuba-diving tourists travelling with me still remarked on the dazzling fish.

In the north, the government’s Australian Institute of Marine Science, which runs a long-term monitoring program, estimates more than one third of coral around Cooktown-Lizard reefs has been lost.

Drone imagery taken by scientists from Macquarie University and other institutions estimates as much as 97 per cent of the northern reef around Lizard Island died last year. Frequent cyclone activity on top of warming waters means recovery is constantly thwarted.

The southern reef, with cooler waters, has survived better, but even so, the institute reported a 40 per cent loss of coral cover in 2024 due to record heat. Last year was the world’s hottest on record. Unsustainable fishing, pollution, sediment run-off, outbreaks of crown-of-thorn starfish and (cue koalas) mining are also culprits.

A report by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority says the reef will continue to deteriorate, and the window to save it is rapidly closing.

The effect on tourism will ultimately be the least of our problems. Reefs from Raja Ampat to the Caribbean are also being devastated. Globally, the food security and livelihoods of millions are under threat.

We are failing to curb greenhouse emissions that cause global warming. In fact, emissions are going up under our present government. No amount of coral planting or breeding tougher species can beat the inhospitality of overheated waters.

No amount of disease control will help koalas if they have nowhere to live. Australia will, however, be left with plenty of snakes. Perhaps Qantas might consider “snakes on a plane” for its next tourist pitch.