What happened at Cape Otway Region, Victoria?

It is weird how at one end of the spectrum you have tourists taking photos of the koalas and native wildlife, while at the other end, the Victorian Government were shooting the very same koalas in the same area. 

Case Study: What Not To Do!

What were you thinking, Victoria?
Cape Otway Region Victoria: The koalas based along Victoria's Great Ocean Road are a popular tourist attraction. Millions of people have continued to visit them each year since their introduction by the Victorian Government in 1985. They have been the object of numerous studies and increased interest over the years, as well as a source of enjoyment for locals and tourists alike.

And with all the attention, that the Cape Otway koala was receiving, it seems highly unlikely that not one single person - not one single government official, local or scientist - noticed that the koalas along the Great Ocean Road were breeding too successfully, that they were eating themselves out of their own habitat, and that their numbers had drastically increased. After all, these koalas were introduced by the Victorian government, who had a duty of care to uphold.

I'm sure I heard something - some talk over the years, and even news reports in the media - that these koalas were eating themselves out of their own home. I do believe the koalas were generating some attention over the fact they were doing too well at Cape Otway. I guess no-one had a real plan OR VISION of what to do. Not even the AKF (Australian Koala Foundation). No-one really spoke up other than a few simple articles from the AKF. In the past, there would be an outrage of emotion, but not these days, it looks to me that even the AKF has run-out-of breath, looks like they have run out of gas, and falling behind of the new teleological digital world. The koala industry needs to reinvent itself in a major way, in order to capture the world's attention, like what was once seen in the 80's. In order to keep up with the digital age, we have to come up with new ideas, retell a new story of the koala, but in an interesting and positive way, and build our faith and hold the global audience again.

Despite this, in 2014, the Victorian government secretly culled over 700-800 koalas. This information was not released to the public until March 2015, which was a strategic-media release, a win-fall for the Victoria Government, a well orchestrate move because it coincided with heavy media focus on the Bali 9 - and the two main ringleaders Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran who were publicly executed – as well as our Prime Minster at the time, Tony Abbott's repeated headline-drawing stories. This meant that the ​koala cull​ faded into the backdrop and barely became public news at all. 

For decades, the signs of koala overpopulation were there, but government incompetence combined with poor advice from so-called "experts" ultimately lead to this cull, which was entirely preventable.

The next article 18; Part-2 of "What the Funk" happened Secret Koala Cull 2014, Victoria?