Pamela Collett with a massive tree nicknamed the Survivor: “We have a responsibility to protect this kind of habitat.” Photo: Friends of Callum Brae Nature Reserve.
The ACT Planning Authority is challenging whether a community group can apply to have its approval of a proposed crematorium overturned in the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
The Planning Authority has conditionally approved the proposal, to be built on 10 ha of land in Symonston next to the Callum Brae Nature Reserve.
But the potential loss of critically endangered Yellow Box-Blakely’s Red Gum Grassy Woodland, including 15 trees used for foraging by the endangered Swift parrot, prompted a campaign from the Friends of Callum Brae Nature Reserve to stop the development.
The group went to ACAT in December, but the Planning Authority questioned the standing of the group and two others who oppose the development.
Friends spokesperson Pamela Collett said the Planning Authority now had to submit its reasons by 19 January and the group’s arguments by 2 February for a hearing the following week.
Ms Collett said the Friends’ action was not frivolous and ACAT had already advised that if it had an interest in the proposal, it could apply for a review of the decision.
She said the proposal had instigated two petitions attracting more than 800 signatures and 150 submissions.
Multinational funeral services company InvoCare is behind the development, which will include two electric cremators, a chapel, a caretaker’s residence, a 100-space car park and two new driveways.
It was recently bought out by global private equity giant TPG (Texas Pacific Group).
Approval conditions include the preservation of some or all of the 15 trees used by the Swift parrot or, if removal is unavoidable, the trees be compensated to ensure that fragmentation of the Swift parrot habitat does not occur.
But Ms Collett said this was nonsense as more than 100-year-old trees with hollows were irreplaceable.
“You take out any of those trees, and they’re critically endangered, each of them is over 100 years old, it takes about 100 years to make a hollow,” she said.
The site all up contained 106 hollow bearing trees and was a likely breeding habitat for Gang Gang Cockatoos.
The proponent must also submit an environmental management plan, but Ms Collet said it was not a project that could be managed to avoid the destruction of critically endangered woodland, wildlife habitat or impacts on the surrounding area.
She said there would still be particulate matter emitted from the facility even if other emissions can be reduced, and impacts from lighting and noise.
“This is one of the most important wildlife corridors between Callum Brae Nature Reserve, Red Hill, Mugga and Isaac Ridge,” Ms Collett said.
“This is one of the last healthy stands of these particular trees in Australia. We have a responsibility to protect this kind of habitat.”
Ms Collett said the proposal should have been assessed on the Impact track instead of the Merit track so a full environmental impact statement was required.
She said the site was not big enough for such a development, which would inevitably damage Callum Brae, and the Friends would like the land to be incorporated into the Nature Reserve.
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