7 December 2010

The Arboretum takes your trees

| johnboy
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Liberal leader Zed Seselja has raised the interesting point that while this year’s budget has $26 million for trees at the Arboretum, it’s cutting $10 million over three years out of the urban tree program.

When asked about an almost $10 million funding cut to the urban trees program, after much deliberation the Chief Minister finally said the program had been deferred.

Zed: You’re taking money out of street trees but you’ve managing to find in all in this search for savings an extra $26 million for planting trees at the Arboretum.

Stanhope: …Certainly, were partially deferred the program (Estimates, 20/5/10)

“This just shows where Jon Stanhope’s priorities are for delivery basic services for the Canberra community,” Zed said. “He is quite happy to strip out almost $10 million over three years out of replacing urban trees in our suburbs and at the same time put in more than two and a half times that number of funding into the Arboretum.

Trees on your street? Or trees in a special tree park you might visit once a year?

If you had to choose...

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enrique said :

rosscoact said :

It’s obvious that most people cant see the forest for the trees. Think small, act small.

It’s obvious you have size issues yourself rossco… This isn’t about thinking small or thinking big, this is about financial decisions. Ask yourself this…

What will be a bigger enticement for people to live in/visit Canberra in 50 years from now: a) a city with unkempt urban areas, lacking in trees but a giant arboretum across the other side of the lake… or b) a maintained urban area with lovely trees and gardens that continue to be the envy of other parts of the nation and a modestly sized aboretum across the way that can be expanded over time

Oh Enrique, aren’t you sweet, but really I don’t swing that way

It’s axiomatic that no one has ever visited a city in the history of tourism to see nice surburban streets full of project houses no matter how many trees there are or are not there. Otherwise we would have travel agents offering fly drive packages to um………, you’ll have to insert your favourite suburban destination, a google search didn’t reveal any tourism statistics on this.

The arbouretum will be quite spectacular and unique and I believe in a couple of decades will be listed as one of Canberra’s most visited assets.

enrique said :

What will be a bigger enticement for people to live in/visit Canberra in 50 years from now: a) a city with unkempt urban areas, lacking in trees but a giant arboretum across the other side of the lake… or b) a maintained urban area with lovely trees and gardens that continue to be the envy of other parts of the nation and a modestly sized aboretum across the way that can be expanded over time

actually, enrique, with canny marketing, the former…

…and ceej, there aren’t the deaths in europe from falling branches ’cause they don’t have widow-maker eukies as their natives…

i actually wanted a poll response to give me the option of having both. in the scheme of things, this isn’t much money. how about the act government petitions the feds to spend less on defence white elephants and there’ll be moolah for everybody and their trees!

I recently took part in a consultation process on the future of Canberra’s urban forest, so to find that Stanhope has cut 10 million from this program – which is sorely needed – yet continues to fund his poorly thought out grandiose ego boosting arboretum, distresses me.

the process considered views from many different people, and was one of the best run processes i have taken part in (it was not a sham, like the public transport consultation) . to find that when the report is delivered there will be little funding to implement its recommendations is a very poor decision by the local ALP.

In Europe, there are lots of European trees (funny that ay Stanhope), and lots of streets (wow, imagine that). Many of the trees in the streets around where we live in Germany, are over 500 years old, and funnily enough, there hasnt been many if any deaths from rove trees falling on people. So one would wonder where Stanhope found it in his wisdom to chop down so many of our young and beautiful trees, when clearly they (the trees) are not as agressive as Stanhope imagines (images of the rebellion trees from Lord of The Rings run through my mind). And why hasnt Stanhope considered trimming trees? European trees grow new branches the next year after trimming.

Will the arboretum get a mention in the Telegraph?

Not unless it is to attack Labour. Otherwise they wont give a toss and it wont draw crowds from Sydney

The arboretum has always been nothing but a giant waste of money and it always will be.
I’m looking forward to seeing the look on Stanhopeless’ face when the next big bushfire rips through and destroys his precious arboretum. Planting the arboretum in the place of a pine plantation that has been destroyed multiple times by bushfires! Great idea!!

I don’t think I’ve met anyone in this town that actually supports the creation of an arboretum or who would be in the least bit interested in ever visiting it.

rosscoact said :

It’s obvious that most people cant see the forest for the trees. Think small, act small.

It’s obvious you have size issues yourself rossco… This isn’t about thinking small or thinking big, this is about financial decisions. Ask yourself this…

What will be a bigger enticement for people to live in/visit Canberra in 50 years from now: a) a city with unkempt urban areas, lacking in trees but a giant arboretum across the other side of the lake… or b) a maintained urban area with lovely trees and gardens that continue to be the envy of other parts of the nation and a modestly sized aboretum across the way that can be expanded over time

I’m on a very old street in Braddon that’s lined by oak trees. It’s lovely… however, new constructions are being given approval to remove these in the process of building new units.

I never go anywhere near the Aboretum and don’t plan on it. John’s personal project much?

It’s obvious that most people cant see the forest for the trees. Think small, act small.

Once a year to the arboretum?…..thats a bit rich!! I have lived her 10 years and I have been to the Botanic gardens once.

At this rate, everyone will need to turn to Guerrilla Gardening to keep their suburbs green. The government services will gladly come along and destroy a 100 year tree at the rate of knots if it happens to drop just one branch but then they won’t replace it for years.

Bloody ridiculous if you ask me. Young trees are quite cheap to plant – it’s the more mature ones that add to the cost. If they just dropped in a few saplings for every mature tree they cut down they would only be up for a few more dollars each time and the problem would be solved. Sure, you may lose a few here to heat stress, or idiot teenagers, but overall we’d be better off than we are now.

Friggin’ Arboretum!!! What a *GREAT* idea, lets plant a bunch of international tree species in a region that has an ever reducing supply of natural rainfall. I wonder if anyone has estimated how many of those trees in the arboretum will be lost and what that will cost…

Crikey this town has seriously gone bonkers with its spending… so let me get this straight – the cost of parking is going up – I’m getting less trees in my street – and a patch of dirt across the other side of town is going to get a bunch of trees that will be ‘pretty’ in about 50 years time, oh and I have to pay an additional 15M after taking into consideration the 10M in savings from no more urban trees.

Don’t get me started on that money sink infrastructure project that is the Glenloch interchange – how the planners could stuff up what effectively should have been a simple overpass with a cloverleaf is beyond me. And then there is the ‘third’ lane on that bridge on Dairy Road over the Molonglo at Pialligo – since when was it a good idea to turn a footpath into a road?

Man, my blood pressure has gone up to high. Time to stop ranting.

Phew…

I disagree Trevar. The responses are entirely loaded. There is no option that says I’d rather they didn’t spend the money on either option. I was hoping for an option that I’d rather they paved paradise and put up a parking lot…

I bet they charge more than $1.50 to get into the arboretum, anyway.

Pommy bastard11:35 am 21 May 10

barking toad said :

It is more important to stock the Mayor’s Memorial than to give the peasants shrubbery.

That would seem to be the gist of it BT.

Anyone else here believe that Sonic has done more to destroy the image of Canberra as “The Bush Capital”, by his slash and build ethos, than the 2003 fire ever did?

Hells_Bells7411:21 am 21 May 10

Well, I would like to see more trees in general around the place, not in my street. Couldn’t support anymore, they’ve been thinned over the years. There are masses of trees or at least used to be at the end of my street. But I will put my vote here anyhow.

It’s interesting to see different species that aren’t your typical dozen varieties used mostly here (if that’s indeed why we’d have an arboretum). But, please.. perspective this time Stanhope. Take care of your own backyard before making a dick of yourself having a tree museum suck the coffers dry.

barking toad11:20 am 21 May 10

It is more important to stock the Mayor’s Memorial than to give the peasants shrubbery.

I was expecting the poll to include an option “Use the money to support summernats”

or

“Fund more unmarked cars so we can randomly drug test feral cats”

This is a bit of an unusual poll for RiotACT; the responses aren’t loaded!

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