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Hundreds have turned out to the National Koala Conference to listen to presentations on conservation and rehabilitation of the species.
It is the second time the conference has been based in Port Macquarie and the theme for 2017 was ‘The Future Is In Our Hands’.
Ruth Lewis from the Ipswich Koala Protection Society (IKPS) spoke about the way their council has been receptive to the decline of koala populations.
She said the council consult with their group regularly for the Koala Conservation and Sustainability Plan.
In addition Ms Lewis said the group relies on stakeholders, local and the broader community to get behind koala conservation and support the combined efforts of the Ipswich City Council and IKPS.
Unfortunately she said humans are a ‘greedy race’ who don’t often think about the consequences of their actions on wildlife.
Ms Lewis gave an example of when she went out and asked a resident who lived on prime koala habitat if she would be prepared to sell to a developer for a million dollars.
The woman explained to Ms Lewis that she would because she had a mortgage to pay off and she needed the money more than the koalas.
The conference is on from June 2 until June 4 at Rydges in Port Macquarie.
There are presentations on current research into diseases, drugs, translocation, regional koala projects, future predictions, behaviour and legislation.