You know..... you can't really blame people for thinking the way they do, as annoying as it is for snake owners to come across this type of thing, we still need to understand that most people really fear snakes. if I acted stupid and went on a rant everytime I met a person who feared snakes I would be in the nut house. As a relocator, I get this all the time.
You have the opportunity to change the way people think and you blew it.
Most of the population have a very deep seated fear of snakes, this is easy to understand. It was drilled into them as kids that all snakes are bad news, from the generations before them, and going back a few generations it was with bloody good reason too. There was no anti venom, there was no legitimate first aid for snake bite, the whole of Australia was basically pioneer bush living, and when people (timber workers, gardeners, farmers etc) were tagged by EB's or Tigers or Taipans..... they died, end of story. This is the history and reality of why so many people are so fearful today. Identification of species wasn't there, and neither was any solid advice on what to do if a snake was encountered.
Next time you get an opportunity, take a deep breath, understand that the other person is honestly fearing for their kids and there own safety and act wisely. Of course they will arc up at your statement about the koala, to be honest, the person that shovelled the snake was acting more real then you. Sorry if you take offence, but I deal with this stuff daily and with these people, they aren't bad people, they are acting from fear.