21 September 2005

Exceptional trees

| Jazz
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Its a rare occaision that I listen to the news, mostly because it is stuff happening elsewhere that I couldn’t care about. Thismorning however seemed to be an exception as it alerted me to legislation set to be passed this week to protect Canberra’s exceptional trees.

The estimated 500,000 trees in Canberra will all be assesed with about 16000 going on the initial register. The legislation also makes it very clear on the penalties for damaging one of the protected ones with fines of up to $20,000 for individuals and covers stuff like damage around the tree which leads to its death and quarantine of that land – something sure to make developers take notice.

An advisory panel set up by Comrade Stanhope will make recommendations with the Conservator of Flora and Fauna in the ACT (currently DR Maxine Cooper – who is about to be a very busy girl) making the final call.

The current legislation essentially protects all trees over 12m, so if your timing is good you can get in and lop down that big eucalypt hanging precariously over your house as the legislation changes

CT have some more details here

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BAck to the trees – the Canberra Times had an article yesterday stating that street trees are dying in their thousands. I still think they should look after these trees before over regulating trees in people’s yards.

Indi, she is, and is currently in the market for a new advisor.

Is Dr Foskey still residing in public housing?

I can’t believe after all the negative press, advice would not have been forthcoming or at the least the obvious public sentiment would have provided her with enough feedback to make a suitable decision…

Hey Roland, have you got a press release with the Green’s views on Public Housing being occupied by people on high salaries who could afford to purchase their own home, or at least rent from the private market?????

Roll on ACT Election!

Roland can you contact me at kerces@hotmail.com please?
I’ll see if we can’t get some press release balance happening.

Greens press release on this issue for balance! roland

weds 21 sept 05

Ecologist needed on Tree Advisory Panel

In response to a media release from the Chief Minister today attacking her for comments on consultation and tree protection legislation in the Assembly this morning, ACT Greens MLA Deb Foskey has issued a brief statement to remind the Chief Minister of the point she was making, and take the opportunity to call on the Government to allow for an ecologist to be included on the Tree Advisory Panel.

“In introducing the Greens’ Legislation Amendment Bill, which would require Government to report on its consultation when it tables a bill, I made the point that bringing on the debate for the Tree Protection Bill this week came as a surprise to a number of the key partners who had worked with the Government in developing the legislation, and that there were people on the record arguing they were left out of the process. Those factors led me to question the government’s commitment to effective consultation” Dr Foskey said today.

“I am pleased to see the list of people the Chief Minster has consulted with in developing the Tree Protection Bill – which he released to the media this afternoon – and would have liked it to have seen it when the Bill was tabled earlier this year, as would be required under the Bill I introduced today.”

“I should like to add that I consider this new scheme will be an improvement over the Interim Tree Protection Scheme if properly implemented.”

“However, there are some amendments to the tree legislation that we would like to see the government adopt, and I know we have support from some of those bodies that the ACT Government has consulted already in developing the Bill.”

“In particular, it doesn’t make sense to put the scientific assessment of trees solely in the hands of a forestry expert and to rule out including an ecologist.”

“I will move to amend the Bill tomorrow to ensure that at least one person on the advisory panel would have extensive experience as an ecologist, and will be well supported by colleagues in the nature and conservation community” Dr Foskey said.

NOTE: Government rejected the ecologist amendment.

I really hope that the SES doesn’t get in trouble for cutting up ‘protected’ trees when they are doing their job.

If they really want to save tress why don’t they actually look after the street tress, which have shrivelled up through the drought.
Or the ones which are chopped to nothing for hte powerlines. And then let people do what they like in their own yards.

Absent Diane4:10 pm 21 Sep 05

Let me know how you go evil…. I want my nice bit of wood heritage listed – mostly to attract lots of visitors that will bring lots friends on a regular basis and won’t hang around

I had to pop along to a few of them. Most of the meetings and the concerns for old trees was along the lines of birds and possums, and the occasional scarred tree by the local indigneous tribes around the ACT.

A few comments were also raised about the need for our bush capital to have some old trees to provide charachter. Which i agree with. But there have been galring exceptions to this such as the GDR (which needed to happen. so a few trees is an acceptable loss in my book).

Most negative comments were along the lines of what happens if it falls on my house, or power lines. these comments were met by ‘its really your problem , in your backyard so build a bridge and get over it’.

This legislations is basically an add-on to the signifcant tree register which currently runs the ACT aborism bits (and is very f**king annoying).

Overall, it really drags the ACT kicking and screaming into line with the rest of the states and principalities in Aust. It will also provide a clearer mechanism to dispute rulings made by Govt officials as to wether the tree can be chopped or not. At the moment you have tio prove that the tree is diseased for it to go, but there are no guidelines that actually allow for a tree toi be considered diseased as it actually stands.
Sorry about the spelling to those who continually pull me up for it, but really you can go and get stuffed!

lol. Be careful.

Should your wood be listed as exceptional, any tampering by humans could mean that it is quarantined for a few years.

Great, I’ll pop it out for them tomorrow!

Apparently so Mr Evil. submissions may be made by members of the community for consideration.

I’ve sometimes thought to myself that I’ve got an exceptional piece of wood: do you think Jon will let me register it? 😉

I know we put something up on RiotACT (can’t remember if it was old or new) when this legislation was first introduced but for the life of me I cannot find it to put up again

anyone else want to have a go, it was all about the remarkable and exceptional tree register

I imagine that there were possibly some very significant trees along Bruce Ridge, but I don’t recall Comrade giving a rat’s arse when they were being bulldozed.

LOL – Commrade indicates that his Party is “the only party with a vision for the future that involves anything but vistas of concrete and paving”.

He is joking of course!

Jon Stanhope’s put out a media release (not yet online so reproduced below) saying the Liberals and Greens clearly don’t care about trees, exceptional or otherwise, because they haven’t bothered to understand the legislation or its background (well, according to Stanhope).

ENVIRONMENTAL CREDENTIALS OF LIBS, GREENS IN TATTERS
The environmental credentials of both the Liberal Opposition and Greens MLA Deb Foskey were in tatters today, and it was patently clear that neither party was remotely concerned about the future of Canberra’s trees, Environment Minister Jon Stanhope said.

“The sheer ignorance displayed by both parties over the past two days in relation to the Government’s tree protection legislation has beggared belief, Mr Stanhope said today.

“The depths of the Liberals’ ignorance was highlighted yesterday, during Assembly debate, when it emerged that none of the Liberals present in the House was aware that the Government tree protection Bill they characterised as ‘draconian’ was in fact an amelioration of an interim scheme put in place by none other than the current Liberal Opposition leader, Brendan Smyth.

“If the Liberals think the Government’s Bill is tough, goodness knows how much sleep they must have lost over the scheme they personally put in place. They must be flagellating themselves.”

Mr Stanhope said he had been equally astonished to hear Greens MLA Deb Foskey opining today on the lack of consultation on the Bill.

“For a so-called environmentalist, Dr Foskey seems not to have had her finger on the pulse of things at all on the years leading up to her election to the Assembly,” Mr Stanhope said. “One would have thought that someone who sets themselves up as a guardian of the environment, as Dr Foskey so piously does, would have had some glancing familiarity with a consultation process that has been going on for three years, and that has involved everyone from the arboriculture industry, tree protection groups, architects, developers, surveyors, the Conservation Council and the Heritage Council, among others.

“Anyone and everyone with an interest in the protection of trees has had ample opportunity to have their views taken into consideration. And that includes, incidentally, the company that employs the arborist who was on local radio this morning, claiming that he had never heard of the Bill. My information is that this company, a tree-felling company, in common with every other arboricultural business listed in the Yellow Pages, was sent a copy of the discussion paper and invited to face-to-face briefings.”

Mr Stanhope said that the consultation over the Bill had been long and thorough. A discussion paper, prepared in consultation with ACT for Trees and members of the development sector, had been released in October 2003 and had been publicly available via the Internet as well as through shopfronts and public libraries. Community comments were invited for two months after the release of the paper.

Among those involved in the consultation were:
• ACT for Trees;
• arboriculturalists;
• the development industry;
• landscape architects;
• the Institute of Spatial Surveyors;
• the Housing Industry Association;
• the Property Council;
• the Environmental Defender’s Office;
• the Conservation Council;
• the Commissioner for the Environment;
• the Heritage Council; and
• the Majura, West Belconnen, Manuka, Burley Griffin, Ginninderra and Inner North Local Area Planning Committees.

Public meetings were also held. Past and present tree advisors including Dr Robert Boden and Dr John Banks were significantly involved in the preparation of the discussion paper, the Bill and the criteria.

“It is astounding that this long and elaborate process could have occurred without the knowledge of Dr Foskey, and that she could now stand up in the Legislative Assembly and protest about the lack of consultation.

“This Bill is one of the most exhaustively, comprehensively and rigorously prepared pieces of legislation conceivable. It is one thing for the Government’s political opponents to misrepresent the Bill for political ends, but it is quite another for the alternative government in this Territory to reveal itself as so ill-informed, so inept and so poorly prepared, that it seems unaware of its own role in the evolution of this legislation.

“The Liberals know very well that their criticisms of the Bill are groundless and that their unconscionable claims about the effects of the Bill on ordinary home owners are highly coloured and alarmist. Their behaviour has been nothing short of despicable.

“What this episode has clearly revealed is that Labor is the only party in this Territory that has the slightest understanding of the environmental and cultural value of exceptional Canberra trees, the only party with a sense of this city’s history, and the only party with a vision for the future that involves anything but vistas of concrete and paving.”

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