Greens NSW senator Dr Mehreen Faruqi used a visit to the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital to call on the state government to commit to protecting and preserving koalas into the future.
"I've been meaning to come to the Koala Hospital to thank the volunteers at the hospital and staff who have been looking after the injured koalas because of bushfires," Dr Faruqi said.
"I've been hearing from staff that they need more resources but really what we need to protect and preserve koalas in the future is to protect land and habitat for koalas and for that government needs to step in.
"We need to make sure we have protected land, which is koala habitat, we stop logging in native forests."
Dr Faruqi said the situation is exacerbated by the "intensity and frequency of bushfires".
She attributed the recent "unprecedented" bushfires to climate change.
"Bushfires have been raging for weeks already and it's just the start of summer. Everyone from scientists to firefighters are pointing to the climate crisis making bushfires more dangerous each year," she said.
"It is the elephant in the room which the government doesn't want to deal with."
She conceded communities had struggled because of limited opportunities for hazard reduction burns.
While some have suggested this is because of government bureaucracy and tighter environmental protections Dr Faruqi said climate change played a role too in limiting opportunities for hazard reduction burns.
"The window of opportunity is becoming smaller and smaller because of the climate crisis," she said.
"To conduct a hazard reduction they need cooler weather, moisture and low winds and that window is becoming smaller and smaller."
Dr Faruqi was in the region for the funeral of bushfire victim Julie Fletcher who died on Friday, November 8 at Johns River and is a family friend of the senator.
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