By Karin Adam, Alicia Ng

Australia’s koals population is in danger of becoming extinct, according to a submission to a senate inquiry about the endangered species.

Wildlife Queensland spokesman Simon Baltais has told the Senate Inquiry into the status, health and sustainability of Australia’s koala population that the koala should become a federally protected species.

Wildlife Queensland spokesman Simon Baltais said Australia’s koala population is in danger of becoming extinct and attributes this to numerous factors.

“The old saying ‘no tree no me’ is quite correct and habitat life is probably the number one killer,” he said.

“Then there would be road kills and obviously domestic dogs and disease.”

Mr Baltais said the koala should be a federally protected species.

Senate Committee chair Liberal Party Senator Mary Jo Fisher said however there is no scientific proof that there is a decline in koala numbers.

“Across the board there is concern that koala populations might be decreasing but the trouble is that, that evidence is largely anecdotal,” she said.

Development Institute of Australia Queensland Brian Scott represents the state’s property development industry and said the species needs to be protected, but not at any cost.

“This isn’t an issue of developers saying we just want to continue on taking bulldozers to trees, we do have a balance in this whole exercise and that balance is we have to house future communities,” he said.

The Senate Committee’s final report is due in August.