Private school vandalised as koala corridor cut
Tensions are boiling over at a prestigious Queensland school, as diggers move in to remove 650 trees that are habitat for koalas.
The bitter fight over plans to axe 650 trees at a top south east college has taken a new turn, with the school targeted by graffiti vandals over the weekend.
Over the weekend, “leave Koalas alone” was spray painted on sites across the campus following the state government’s approval of the school’s major expansion plans.
It comes as a controversial plan for a sweeping redevelopment, including a new oval, playing fields and an early learning centre at the exclusive bayside college was granted through a Ministerial Infrastructure Designation last week.
Central to the opposition to the plan is the removal of about 650 trees, which form part of a significant koala corridor in Redland.
According to multiple posts to social media, that work began on Monday – the school saying fauna spotter-catchers would be onsite during the tree felling.
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But koala advocacy groups quickly distanced themselves from the graffiti, labelling it “not helpful and unacceptable” on social media.
In a statement, Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF Bayside) spokesperson, Judith Seton said the graffiti “expresses the sentiment but is not the work of the groups that have been regularly protesting at the college gates”.
“We have done our best to protest through rational argument and peaceful protest,” Seton said.
“We know people feel very strongly about this, and we must continue to take action through the appropriate channels.”
In a statement to InDaily, an Ormiston College spokesperson said the “escalation has caused some concern” but the school respected “the community’s right to peaceful expression”.
The spokesperson encouraged protesters to “weigh up the facts that are available to them”.
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“This area has been independently identified through multiple ecological surveys conducted between 2016 and 2023 as a koala transit corridor, a zone koalas move through, not a breeding or high-density habitat,” she said.
“That finding was a key consideration in the Queensland Government’s decision to approve our Ministerial Infrastructure Designation.
“For those concerned about the welfare of any wildlife in the area, we want to be clear that licensed fauna spotter-catchers are currently on site and will remain throughout all clearing activity.
“Clearing is being carried out in carefully managed stages, with no more than 50 per cent cleared at any one time and mandatory overnight rest periods between stages to allow any wildlife to move naturally and safely.”
The college declined to comment on the cost to remove the graffiti.
Earlier this month, protesters rallied outside Queensland Parliament in a bid to stop the development.
ACF Bayside organised that protest, claiming the trees were a protected koala habitat with Redlands City Council naming Ormiston a koala-safe neighbourhood in 2018.
According to council figures, there are estimated to be between 350 to 500 koalas in 2026 in the area.
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