Koala Woman Says

This electorate borders the Murray River, and the main Koala food tree is the River Red Gum, but there isn’t much of this habitat left. Beginning in the 1850s paddle-steamers began plying their trade, and you can guess what they used for fuel! On the Murray, there have been 50 records since 2000, all between Echuca and Tocumwal where the last of the mighty Red Gum forests are protected in Barmah State Park. No, wait a minute, that’s in Victoria! The only Red Gum forests on the NSW side were State Forests, they were only converted to National Park in 2010 after 160 years of logging. Did you know that River Reds need a flood for the seeds to germinate? Well, tough luck, everybody else wants the water for irrigation. Twenty-three Koalas were introduced to a Reserve in Narrandera in 1972, the population increased to 70 a few years ago and became quite a tourist attraction and in 2023 a drone survey established the population at 290. Believe it not, this is the most genetically-diverse Koala population in southern NSW. Why? Koalas have dispersed from this population, but with the poor ecological state of the Murrumbidgee River they have only gone about 10 km.

Will she Act or Axe?