|
29th
July 2002
Newcastle Herald
Short Takes
The
buffoons who call themselves local politicians are demonstrating their
inability to view the big picture with Newcastle's beautiful old trees.
When Novodozians (dozy Novocastrians) eventually wake up and vote the
grey-Greens, liberal-Labours and the past-used-by-date Liberals out
of office, their inept decisions will be seen by our children to have
been wrong. These decision-makers should apply the same criteria to
themselves as they do to the trees: roots not what they used to be?
Interfering with other important things? Limbs a bit out of shape and
flabby? Trunk bulging in the wrong places? Foliage thin on top? If so,
they should be mercifully put down, just like the sinful trees. Thanks
to Jeff Corbett ('A tree falls in silence' NH 24.7.02) for presenting
the big picture. Trees are more inportant than concrete, bitument and
cables.
D.C.
Medowie
27th July 2002
Newcastle Herald
Short Takes
Further
to the removal of the fig tree from Civic Park, could the council tree
management officer, Mr H-, please explain why a young fig tree was planted
12 months ago in Enterprise Park, right in the corner of Watt and Scott
streets, in an almost identical set of conditions to the one in Civic
Park? Surely the problems generated by the old fig at Civic will be
replicated when this tree grows and sends out its roots, probably even
earlier, as there is a brick garden wall surrounding this tree.
P.J.
Hamilton
27th
July 2002
Newcastle Herald
Short Takes
Congratulations
are in order to Newcastle City Council for the removal of the 80-year-old
fig tree that was menacing commuters and passers-by in Civic Park. I
look forward to seeing it re-engineered as a power pole, finally giving
something back for all those years that it took up so much space. Hopefully
the coming audit of Newcastle's remaining 350 larger and older trees
will find these also to be economically, ecologically and environmentally
unsound, and will see them dealt with accordingly.
H.D.
Newcastle
26th July 2002
Newcastle Herald
Short Takes
Following
the axing of one of Newcastle's most significant trees in Civic Park,
Cr McKenzie put up a report to council to discuss the urban trees issue.
It was howled down by Lord Mayor Tate and most of the councillors -
with a new 'environmental levy' added to our rates. This is like arsonists
who go around lighting bushfires, then want praise for helping to put
them out.
E.S.
Bar Beach
Newcastle
Herald
Letters to the Editor
Contradiction
on the Council
Newcastle City Council plans to assess 350 of the city's large trees
with a view to removing more, in the name of saety and public liability.
Are
they on an employment drive or do they just have a fetish for concrete?
Removing
large, established trees in the heart of the city instead of moving
the offending cables seems to be at odds with the council's very own
Pathways to Sustainability mantra.
Newcastle's
beauty is being systematically eroded.
Take
a look down Wharf Rd at the tomb-like wall of concrete the council passed
in the name of progress, a symbol of environmental vandalism on our
foreshore.
This
council adds an environmental levy to every rate notice, then accepts
toxic waste at Summerhill.
L.A.
Hamilton South
July 26 2002
Dear
Council,
Thankyou
for your prompt reply to my concerns. However, I am not satisfied.
Why
does Council continually refuse to consider and adequately plan for
trees in our urban environments? Your reply makes it sound as though
this is an isolated example, and that you have had to "reluctantly accept
the removal of this tree." Really?
Firstly,
it is not an isolated example, for the last few years Council and Energy
Australia have been involved in an orgy of activity; carving up, mutilating
and reducing to stumps countless trees across the region with abandon.
The latest budget required a new $60,000 chipper because Council well
and truly has worn the old one out!
And
three days of consultation with the community. You take three years
to create anything, you convene committees, sub-committees, working
parties, workshops, it's like being constipated with a birthing cow
to place something in the environment. But, to destroy something like
an old growth tree, well, that takes three days. Great work, now reverse
it.
In
regards to your utilities. Between Energy Australia and its contractors,
who cuts the tops off the trees, and you guys in Newcastle City Council,
who prune from below, the result is that eventually we will have a landscape
of stumps. Both of you appear to be unable to understand that trees
grow, while electrical poles stay the same height.
We
are all reliant on coal powered electricity to run everything, and the
coal is responsible for global warming isn't it, which we are told requires
the planting of more trees to counteract the effects. So why aren't
we looking after the trees we have, and planting more of them in huge
numbers?
Trees
by their very nature do their own thing. They existed for millions of
years doing pretty well (thankyou very much) before the arrival of "Trees
Maintenance Officers", "engineers", and other such experts on the face
of the Earth who think they know better than nature herself.
If
what we do and what nature does is in conflict, then we need to wisely
consider our position. Why? Because we are a part of nature. What we
do to it, we do to ourselves.
Sorry
for the sermon, but Council appears to be deaf. I have written to Council
about these matters in the past and all I receive in return is the same
frustrating reply. Council doesn't appear to take on board anything
that has to do with the longterm future sustainability of this region's
natural environment, even though its glossy booklets say you do.
All
Council appears to be really concerned with is the happiness of its
lawyers.
Get
Real.
Kindest
Regards,
GDG
|
Hello,
my name is Edwood. 
