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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n Queensland\u2019s deputy premier has defended his decision to allow a bayside private school to clear bushland for new sport fields, a day after GPS tracked another koala entering the area, which was already being cleared.<\/p>\n Protests have been held outside Ormiston College since Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie green-lit the destruction of contested koala habitat<\/a> to make way for the expansion of the private school\u2019s sporting fields last week.<\/p>\n \u201cLeave koalas alone\u201d has been graffitied on the college\u2019s welcome sign, and at least one person, former Greens candidate Kristie Lockhart, has been arrested for jumping a fence.<\/p>\n College principal Michael Hornby told media this week that the school was adhering to strict conditions, denying the area was a koala habitat.<\/p>\n Redland City Council has disputed the ecological report<\/a> on which Hornby relied to reach that conclusion \u2013 although it said it supported the project in principle.<\/p>\n On Thursday, the Redlands Koala Action Group reported a GPS-tracked koala named Leaf had moved on to the Ormiston College site overnight.<\/p>\n Leaf survived a car strike that left her blind in one eye and separated from her missing joey last year, and was released into bushland after months of rehabilitation.<\/p>\n \u201cThis loss of this significant mapped core koala habitat is absolutely devastating to Leaf and the other koalas that call this area home and makes a mockery of the state government\u2019s new koala strategy,\u201d Redlands Koala Action Group president Debbie Pointing said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been heartbreaking for the community to witness century-old trees that we know are regularly utilised by Leaf and other koalas simply being cut down for sporting ovals is morally wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n Related Article Speaking at Howard Smith Wharves on Thursday afternoon<\/a>, Bleijie defended his decision and said it was based on independent advice from the State Development and Planning Department.<\/p>\n \u201cYou could complain about every MID [ministerial infrastructure designation] that every former Labor government had done,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe planning ministers do the infrastructure designations all the time \u2013 it\u2019s nothing new, and that is simply what we\u2019ve done in this case.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd I\u2019ve seen the comments from the principal \u2013 I think they were very good comments \u2013 and I\u2019ve also seen again protesters illegally trespassing, attacking a college, a school in that area, and graffitiing the outside of it.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll treat everyone respectfully, but people have to abide by the laws and Ormiston College is applying and abiding by the laws in place.\u201d<\/p>\n Redland City Council denied a similar application from Ormiston College to add an oval and a slew of buildings around the campus in 2021, but the school took new plans directly to the state government last April.<\/p>\n A petition to Bleijie urging him to reject the plan, which would remove 652 mature trees, attracted 8300 signatures.<\/p>\n Pointing said Leaf\u2019s movements were a clear demonstration of how important the site was to the local koala population.<\/p>\n \u201cThen to hear yesterday the college principal say it\u2019s not habitat, and any koalas on the site are lost, is sheer ignorance and denial,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Comment has been sought from Ormiston College.<\/p>\n Pointing said the Koala Action Group had asked the federal government to call in the project and overrule Bleijie\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n A spokesperson for the Federal Environment Department said while they were aware of the Ormiston College project, they had not received a referral.<\/p>\n They added that it was the school\u2019s responsibility to refer the proposal for assessment, \u201cif a significant impact on matters of national environmental significance is likely\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cIn this instance, the proponent is aware of their obligations under national environmental law, and a self-assessment was undertaken and included in the Queensland government Ministerial Infrastructure Designation approval documents,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n Start the day with a summary of the day\u2019s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n![\"Graffiti](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/284deb8b41441e3fe1e2df4154ff9e88b4c6f952ac8dfc74b2f411ecd3f059ae.jpeg\")
Graffiti outside Ormiston College.Facebook<\/p>\n![\"GPS](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/ed75b567e4303fb392f1f0f3a7384719b82cf8c105c66d6f985bd8d19418d314.jpeg\")
GPS tracking has shown Leaf in the Ormiston College bushland being cleared.Redlands Koala Action Group<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/7d596d29ec2f40c54c6fd4eaa5cc393dbf4cc27916d054d089a6c990c7834383.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Protesters](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/2c544abe257ca16cc8d6da35692b7adb5580b6b0c94ad40ed4ad80d145ea1005.jpeg\")
Protesters outside the college this week.Queensland Koala Conservation Collective – Facebook<\/p>\n