A KOALA spotted in a tree marked for removal at Ormiston College has reignited tensions over the school’s proposed campus expansion, as environmental advocates accuse the project of sacrificing core habitat.
The private college has lodged a Ministerial Infrastructure Designation (MID) application that would bypass Redland City Council planning processes.
The proposal includes an early learning centre, new classrooms, a 50m Olympic swimming pool and sporting facility.
But it also involves the clearing of more than 650 trees, many of them mature eucalypts in a mapped koala priority area.
College Headmaster Michael Hornby has defended the proposal, saying the development footprint was reduced following community feedback in 2023 and that significant replanting will strengthen wildlife corridors.
“We have worked extensively with an independent ecologist and will be reinstating an equivalent footprint through habitat restoration with an increased number of preferred koala food trees from the original plan presented in 2023,” he said.
“We are planting nine times the amount of preferred koala food trees in locations that will bridge this deficiency and strengthen the corridor.
“We acknowledge mature trees will be cut down for the development, however the proposed replanting will set up a long-term environmentally sustainable plan that balances the needs of the College with our local fauna and flora.”
But Koala Action Group (KAG) President Debbie Pointing rejected the “no net loss” claim outright.
“Of course there will be a net loss of koala habitat when you are replacing old growth trees with small plants that will be of no use to koalas,” she said.
“The existing mature trees on the site provide substantially more fodder than tiny plants that will be of no use to koalas for at least 10-15 years, which will be too late.”
The group said it had serious doubts about the accuracy of the environmental reports underpinning the proposal.
“Definitely not, it’s a furphy that offsets can possibly be of benefit to koalas and other wildlife, especially in a situation like this where they have already lost so much habitat in the area,” Ms Pointing said.
“Our group has significant concerns about inaccuracies in the Ecological Report regarding their koala detection methodology, stating the site has ‘low level usage’.
“Koala spotters regularly see koalas on and nearby the site, so this is highly questionable.”
The use of the Ministerial Designation process – which removes third-party appeal rights – has also drawn fire.
“We believe it undermines the ability for the community to have a voice and also compromises the koala mapping and overlays that are meant to protect core koala habitat and high ecological wetlands, both of which occur on the site,” Ms Pointing said.
Mr Hornby said there was a requirement for the school to undertake a round of formal consultation, which would begin soon.
“During this, we will seek feedback from the local community and key stakeholders. Whilst this has not commenced yet, it is an absolute requirement and will be undertaken,” he said.
KAG has confirmed it will lodge a formal submission before the August 11 deadline and is working to alert residents to the implications of the project.
