Sign the e-petition - Increase Penalties for Urban Forest Tree Vandalism and Recognise Trees as Natural Assets

One of the first concerns I brought up as a new councillor was the lack of recognition of our trees as assets…..I’ve been harping on about it for a while now….but the worst act of environmental vandalism in Lane Cove history which occurred in November 2023, with the illegal removal of nearly 300 trees and plants from Council-owned bushland has provided me with newfound energy to continue to pursue this!

Please help put pressure on the State govt by signing this petition which calls on the NSW State Government to legislate for much higher penalties for tree vandalism so that they adequately reflect the value of this critical natural asset, as well as urges the NSW State Government to recognize council trees on their asset register.

This issue is bigger than Lane Cove with reports of illegal tree killing and vandalism massively increasing across Sydney in 2023 with more than 1000 reports of trees being damaged or killed (SMH article, Dec 27, 2023).

Subject to legal advice, Lane Cove Council staff will be seeking prosecution in the Land & Environment Court for the devastation that occurred in November 2023. This process provides no guarantee of success and prosecution can cost a significant amount of rate payer money. The decisions can be appealed and Councils can be forced to give up to avoid losing more money.

The North Sydney Federal Member, Kylea Tink, has written to State ministers about the issue (you can read the letters here and here) and a Council resolution was passed in December 2023 directing the Lane Cove General Manager to engage with neighbouring councils to lobby for change.

NSW Councils can issue fines for incidents of tree vandalism of just $3000 for individuals and $6000 for companies (this compares fines of up to $80,000 due to recent reforms in the ACT which came into effect on 1 January 2024).

Fines can reach $1 million for individuals and $5 million for companies if successfully prosecuted through the Land and Environment Court.  

However, Councils aren’t resourced to carry out the criminal-level investigations required that would normally be the job of the police. One of the issues is that unless you get an admission of guilt or have strong evidence of WHO actually was responsible, the burden of proof is too high and the chances of prosecution low. Councils don’t have the same powers of investigation that police have and as a result, can hit dead ends in an investigation.

Whilst tree vandalism is illegal under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act, between 2018 and 2022, only 19 cases relating to trees, vegetation or biodiversity were prosecuted by councils in the Land and Environment Court.

 We need to find ways to effectively protect our tree canopy. Suburbs lacking sufficient trees may become unliveable as the effects of the Climate Crisis increase. Urban trees provide us with health, well-being, environmental and economic benefits.

Council needs increased support by the NSW State Government to investigate and prosecute tree vandals and to protect our urban canopy. We need fines to be increased to reflect the true value of the loss incurred.

Until the value of the view of a tree is greater than the view of a harbour, things may not change. We need to have trees included in a Council’s asset register.

Some of our oldest trees are worth tens of thousands of dollars.

We need to place monetary values on trees and include Council trees as assets on council balance sheets. While the Council’s balance sheet includes buildings, green assets are clearly lacking.

The reason for including trees as assets is two-fold. It not only tracks the value of council-owned trees, which increases as the tree grows, but once it has a material value, if it’s stolen, vandalised or destroyed it becomes a criminal offence. Currently, the responsibility falls on cash-strapped councils.

Despite years of lobbying by local councils for greater protection of trees in our urban environment, we haven’t seen any appropriate, effective response where it is most needed: at the NSW State government level.

Other States are showing leadership. The ACT government recently undertook legislative reform to provide greater tree protection repealing and replacing the Tree Protection Act 2005 with the Urban Forest Act 2023 which includes increasing fines to $80, 000. Similarly, in South Australia, 16 local councils in Adelaide have recently collaborated with the state government to undertake a regional tree canopy assessment of Metropolitan Adelaide providing state and local government representatives with a robust benchmark dataset that can assist in the management of Adelaide's urban forests for years to come.

 Please help put pressure on the State govt by signing this petition which calls on the NSW State Government to legislate for much higher penalties for tree vandalism so that they adequately reflect the value of this critical natural asset;

Calls on the NSW State Government to amend the NSW Local Government Act 1993 to protect tree canopy by including it as "natural capital" or "natural assets" under the act.

What to do if you spot a vandalised tree in wherever you live in NSW.

• If your council uses SnapSendSolve (Lane Cove Council does), upload photos of the tree to the app

• Or, call your Council Ranger to report a potential illegal tree being cut down

• Otherwise, take photos of the tree/s and the surrounding area, as well as close-up photos of anything indicating poisoning or other damage. Email your local council. Be sure to include the specific location of the site.

 Please help put pressure on the State govt by signing this petition