City of Burnside presents to State Parliament on Urban Forest Inquiry

Published on 14 November 2023

The City of Burnside has presented to the State Parliament in a landmark first that could help shape the future of tree protection laws in South Australia.

Council CEO Chris Cowley and Coordinator Environmental Sustainability Dr Philip Roetman met with the Environment, Resources and Development Committee (ERDC) at Parliament House yesterday to give a presentation on the City of Burnside's submission to the Inquiry into the Urban Forest.

The Inquiry's interim report, which was tabled in both the House of Assembly and Legislative Council in recent weeks, investigates Adelaide's diminishing urban tree canopy and contains 15 recommendations to help restore it.

Earlier this year the City of Burnside made a submission to the Inquiry, making a number of recommendations that have been incorporated into the interim report. These recommendations include a significant increase in fees for legal removals and fines for illegal removals, the removal of exemptions that can be exploited via loopholes, a broadening of regulations to protect more trees and the establishment of an Urban Forest Fund.

In his presentation to the ERDC, City of Burnside CEO Chris Cowley said while councils can play a major role in protecting Adelaide's urban forest, they needed more support from the State Government to do so.

‘We are achieving prosecution, but the work involved is substantial. We are relying heavily on residents to provide evidence, the challenge we have is finding enough - a stronger message needs to be sent,’ Mr Cowley said.

‘We are absolutely supportive of the vast majority of, if not all of the recommendations, but we think there is an opportunity for some fine tuning.

‘Streamlining of the prosecution process on multiple levels and removing ambiguity would support Councils greatly.’

Mr Cowley also provided further details to the ERDC on what the City of Burnside has done to mitigate tree damaging activities within the Council area, citing the illegal removal of approximately 50 trees in Auldana North Reserve earlier this year.

‘The sheer scale of this damage is terribly upsetting. We have had Trees For Life revegetating this site and it was completely decimated,’ Mr Cowley said.

‘We have had numerous other incidents within the past year of individuals and businesses causing damage to our urban canopy.’

With support from the State Government and Member for Taylor Nick Champion, $50,000 in funding has been granted to assist the City of Burnside in establishing 15 semi-mature trees to offset tree losses in Auldana North Reserve. Funding will also go towards major signage in the reserve alongside a walking trail and CCTV surveillance to ensure the continued prosperity of the site.

The City of Burnside was also successful in achieving a prosecution in recent weeks against an individual who illegally felled a River Red Gum at a private residence in Rosslyn Park. Due to the prompt action of neighbours contacting the City of Burnside, Council was able to arrive on scene during the act and gather evidence in a timely manner, which enabled a successful prosecution.

Judge Michael Durrant recorded a criminal conviction against All State Tree Works owner Mike Fatu, who was also fined $7,000 and ordered to pay over $2,000 in additional fees including the City of Burnside's court costs.

In his closing comments to the ERDC, Mr Cowley urged parliament to take action to reduce further damage to Adelaide's diminishing urban forest, calling for increased avenues pursuable by Councils.

‘We would like to reflect on the ability of Council to expiate rather than proceed to court action – court is costly and time-consuming passing costs to rate payers. Expiation would provide a faster process to produce outcomes,’ Mr Cowley said.

‘Councils do require changes for more successful prosecutions.’

ERDC Chair and Member for Badcoe Jayne Stinson thanked the City of Burnside for their valuable contribution.

The Inquiry will continue into 2024, with the interim report available to view online here.