As the bill for koala control on Kangaroo Island approaches $5 million, a parliamentary inquiry has urged a more sustainable solution to the feral koala problem.

Since 1997 more than $4.73 million has been spent on sterilisation and moving koalas off the island to the South-East of SA.

In 1996, the first estimates of koala numbers on the island was 3000 to 5000. This estimate was revised in 2001, using better methods, and the number of koalas was put at 27,000.

Since then about 3500 koalas had been moved off the island and many more sterilised and left here.

Department for Environment and Heritage acting regional conservator Bill Haddrill said 2006 counts indicated the population was now about 16,000.

The recent parliamentary inquiry into natural resource management on Kangaroo Island voiced its concern over the cost of the program “and the opportunity cost this represents to other NRM projects” and said it would investigate further.

The committee acknowledged efforts to manage the koalas were “politically sensitive”.

Koala Management Program manager Dr Desley Whisson told the inquiry last year that by 2005-06 the program was receiving funding of $1 million a year. State Government funding had since been halved to $500,000.

Mr Haddrill said the focus of the program was on maintaining plant species threatened by over-grazing. The manna gum was in danger of localised and even island-wide extinction and the SA bluegum also was threatened.

“We’ll probably never be in a position to completely eradicate the koala. That’s not what we’re aiming for. The trend is towards a declining population.”

Mr Haddrill said culling the koalas was not possible because the SA Government was a signatory to the National Conservation Strategy for Koalas. It was also unpalatable for the tourism industry.

He explained the koalas were sterilised before being moved to the South-East because the entire island population was descended from 18 individuals and was “genetically deficient”.

“Also, we don’t want to move our over-population issue to another area.”

He said the Koala Management Program funding was an allocation outside the regular DEH budget and stopping the program would not mean more money for other programs.