The ACT Government has recently modified laws to speed up tree removal in certain circumstances to try to improve safety for Canberrans. It comes as a woman has aired her frustrations, after a branch fell on her home.
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00Terri-Lee Reynolds loves the shade a large gum tree provides her Garen home, but one
00:08particular overhanging branch has always worried her, and last week her fears were realised.
00:14We were both away at the time so we had to ring, you know, pretty panicky, ringing ACT,
00:19SES, the fire brigade, the government, everybody, our insurance company.
00:23This is a street used by school kids and runners and if that branch had hit somebody they would
00:30absolutely be dead.
00:32But she believes the accident was preventable and she'd written to the ACT government several
00:37times asking for permission to remove the branch.
00:40And all I was asking for was me to have approval to pay, we were happy to pay, to have that
00:46branch taken down using one of the government's approved arborists.
00:49Since 2024, all trees on public land in the ACT have been classified as protected, as
00:55have trees above 8 metres on private land.
00:59But following feedback, the government's proposing to tweak the laws to allow for the removal
01:04or trimming of trees that are dead could cause damage to buildings or pose a risk to public
01:09safety.
01:10The government acknowledges the laws as they currently are could cause problems.
01:14But it is in conflict with some other government objectives like public housing, for example.
01:20So we just need to make sure that all of that is working together and that broader review
01:25is underway right now.
01:26The changes are subject to an assembly vote to become law, but the ACT Liberals are petitioning
01:31for the changes to go further.
01:33The petition calls for the government to lower the threshold at which action can be taken
01:41on a dangerous tree, whether that involves removal or lopping the tree, but also to genuinely
01:47take into account the risk to property and life.
01:51In the meantime, Terri Lee Reynolds is simply hoping no more trees come down.
01:55So I'm optimistic that maybe if enough people like me make a noise, then maybe they'll look
02:01at it a bit more.
02:02I don't want more incidents to happen that are dangerous to life and limb for something
02:05to happen.
02:06Terri Lee is facing a months-long wait for the roof repairs.