KOALAS are expected to be listed as a threatened species across parts of Australia from Monday, and some environment groups claim the government has excluded the marsupial from protection in certain areas due to mining interests.

Research conducted near Gunnedah, which is promoted as the ''koala capital of the world'', show numbers for the animal there have declined by 75 per cent since 1993, yet koalas in the area are not expected to be granted extra protection.

Not welcome … Winston the koala was brought to Parliament House in Canberra yesterday by the Greens senator Larissa Waters to raise awareness about declining numbers of his species. However, the animal was refused entry to the Parliament. Credit:Penny Bradfield

The Environment Minister, Tony Burke, said his decisions about the animal's status were based on advice from the national Threatened Species Scientific Committee. A decision originally slated for mid-February was deferred until April 30.

The new ruling will be published next week but, based on current data, is likely to list koalas in south-east Queensland as ''endangered'', and animals east of the Great Dividing Range in NSW as ''vulnerable''.