‘A drop in the ocean’: government’s $50m koala pledge won’t tackle root cause of decline

A pledge of $50m for the koala is significant compared to the $10m in grants shared between 100 other threatened Australian animals and plants. Photograph: Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images

The announcement took place in a fashion Australians have come to expect in election years, with the prime minister, Scott Morrison, cuddling up to a furry marsupial while promising record investment.

This time it was a plan for the Australian government to spend $50m to improve the protection and recovery of one of the nation’s most-loved animals, the koala.