mhaze,

You're not bored, you're just out of room to manoeuvre. You built an argument on sweeping claims, and now that you're being held to them, you're trying to shrink them into something more defensible.

No one said you explicitly claimed koala populations are growing. What I pointed out - accurately - is that you repeatedly used the newly modelled higher numbers as proof that koalas are "thriving," "never in danger," and that the extinction narrative was a "scam." You even mocked people who didn't "celebrate the FACT" [your emphasis] that they were allegedly "no longer going the way of the Dodo."

That's not a neutral observation. It's an interpretation. And your interpretation - that these numbers vindicate years of dismissal and discredit conservation concerns - is what I've been responding to.

Your wallet analogy is cute but irrelevant. CSIRO didn't just find "a 5c coin hiding in the creases," they built a new wallet, widened the search area, and used better lighting. And they said clearly that:

- The new estimate is a baseline, not a trend
- The jump is largely due to improved methods, not sudden repopulation
- Endangered status remains in QLD, NSW, and ACT due to documented regional decline, fragmentation, and habitat threats

You've consistently dodged that part - because it undercuts your whole "hoax" narrative. Instead, you talk in absolutes: "the critter was never in danger," "the opposite was true," "they're thriving," and so on.

When those statements get challenged with nuance, you act like you're being misquoted - and now, predictably, claim it's "boring" to be held to your words.

You can keep shifting definitions to keep the spotlight off the flaws in your logic, but it's not working. You took a scientific update and turned it into an ideological bludgeon - and now you're annoyed that someone's still here to hold the mirror up.

Walk away if you like. The record stands.

You said above that I was dishonest to "claim [I] never said koalas are increasing,"

Now you admit I never said it.

That's as close to an apology as I'm likely to get and I guess I'll take it.

You're welcome to take whatever comfort you need, mahze.

But for the record, I never accused you of explicitly saying "koala numbers are increasing." I said you treated the revised estimate as proof they’re "thriving" and "never in danger," while ignoring the CSIRO’s clear warnings about what the data does and doesn’t mean.

That remains accurate, and you haven’t touched it - let alone refuted it.

So if your takeaway from all this is that you successfully defended a single misread inference while leaving the rest of your position in tatters, then yes - by all means, take the win.

You said above that I was dishonest to "claim [I] never said koalas are increasing," as much as you'd like to pretend otherwise.

I hope a drop bear drops on mhazes head.

AC,

You seem to believe in so many things that are fables.