Council blasted over
trees management
As a qualified arborist I write to you with absolute disgust at the council’s management of the trees on Deakin Avenue.
I have no objection to the sugar gums between 14th and 15th streets being removed.
These trees were dangerous and continuously butchered and so needed to be removed.
But the council has again repeated the mistakes of the past and lopped the remaining trees.
Lopping is an unacceptable arboricultural practice.
I refer to the Australian standard (AS 4373-2007) for tree care, which states quite simply that lopping is an unacceptable practice.
This is because it produces epicormic growth. This is growth that does not grow on the wood of the tree, but on the bark, making it much weaker.
The council will state they are pollarding the trees, not lopping.
This is absolutely false, pollarding is done when the tree is young and new growth is cut back to the old knobs (branches) every year or two, not every 17 in the case of the sugar gums.
This council is 30 years behind current tree management practice.
When interviewed by Sunraysia Daily about the trees after the poor girl was hit at the mardi gras, I was reluctant to blame the current council as it was past poor practice that caused the trees to be unstable.
I now believe that this family should and definitely has a case for suing the council for negligence.
I believe this is the only way the council will change its ways.
This council does not have a level five qualified arborist on staff, the bare minimum required in the city.
Other areas I believe the council is lacking are:
It uses an outside contractor to advise them that also does the work. This is a CLEAR CONFLICT OF INTEREST. For example, you can not belong to the consulting arborists association if you carry out the work you are consulting on.
Other issues I am concerned about are management of trees in general.
It is my belief that under their current insurance agreement every street and park tree needs to be inspected every two years by qualified staff. I do not believe qualified council staff inspect these trees.
I believe the fine for removing a council tree is a measly $200. In Melbourne a $2000 fine was shown to be insufficient, especially when the tree was holding up a house extension (let alone a view).
I have heard of the council using an excavator to remove roots from a 50 foot gum tree a mere metre from the trunk. This has the potential to make the tree unstable, threatening life. Have they even heard of critical root protection zones?
If a resident in Melbourne, Sydney or Brisbane rings up about a tree on their nature strip, the council arborist can, on the phone, tell the resident what type of tree it is, its exact location, when it was planted, when it was last inspected and by whom, what work was recommended and when this work was carried out.
I know our council can’t do this, its just the typical “she’ll be right, job for the boys attitude” of a backwards, incompetent council.
Peter Schwarzbaue,
Mildura
Level Four Arboriculture Burnley (Melbourne Uni)
High time had by all,
and no alcohol
At least 400 people had a good time last Saturday night.
Tongan singers and dancers came from Sydney to help a local Tongan church raise money.
It clashed with the Jazz and Wine Festival, but plenty of supporters came anyway.
There was lots of loud music played enthusiastically by ordinary people.
There was no alcohol.
No alcohol?
In Mildura?
Surely they didn’t have a good time without alcohol?
Surely nobody would turn up to an alcohol-free event in this day and age. The closest we got to alcohol was when the visitation from Mildura Rural City Council turned up wearing a shirt advertising Jack Daniels.
Thank you Pastor Joe Toefoki for arranging it and keeping our feet tapping for three hours, despite being sober.
Arnold Jago,
Mildura
Roll call for Mildura
High ex-students
Mildura High School ex-students and staff from the years 1962-67 are invited to a reunion lunch to be held on Saturday, November 28, 2009, from 11am to 4pm.
The venue is the Gol Gol Hotel terrace and lawn area.
Meals and drinks can be bought from the pub. Partners are welcome.
Name tags should be worn and we are seeking copies of any old photos of our school days.
RSVP to: Deirdre Bowman (Cock) 0403 019 760, oldmildurians@hotmail.com; Jenny Gledhill (Twaddle), 03 50274225, 0417 388 730, gledhilljenny@hotmail.com.
C onsider all issues
before casino OK
BEFORE a casino is built in Mildura there are many facts that need to be considered.
Do we need a facility where all finances will be obtained by the developer, and taxation department, with a large amount of money being removed from Australia?
We have to consider the effect it will have on Mildura, Buronga and Wentworth. Although it may create employment, what will it extract from local businesses?
It will turn the area into a place inviting lawlessness.
There doesn’t seem to be any definite plans available.
There will be need for large amount of parking and road access, which will not interfere with the normal activities of our city.
There is no evidence of how it will fit into our area, which attracts many folk for numerous types of activities.
Iris McGillvray,
Mildura
For more of this story, purchase your copy of Thursday’s Sunraysia Daily 3/11/2009.