Management of Trees
Principal Petitioner: Stephen Lather on behalf of Russell Island Progress Association - RIPA
Closing Date: 4:30pm, Tuesday 13 May 2025
At 10 signatures, this petition will be considered properly made.
Petition Request:
This petition seeks that Council resolves to adopt an official policy to the effect, as follows-
Head of Power
Local Law No. 3 - (Community and Environmental Management) 2015
Policy Objective
To affirm Council’s commitment to, and role as regards, protection of:-
Overhead Services across the city,
Amenity in the city by preservation of property, and
Community safety generally
Policy Statement
That trees on local government controlled land be managed by way of pruning or, where necessary removal, so as to not constitute a reasonably foreseeable risk of damage to any Overhead-Services, House, or Other Structure by cause of Tree-Fall.
Other Terms:
Such other terms and conditions as may be necessary and/or appropriate so as to comply with Council's operational standards, and/or so as to give full meaning and effect to the terms hereof.
Definitions:
The following words/phrases shall have the meanings assigned to them :
"House": Any residential dwelling plus any fence, shed, carport, or other structure adjacent to, or associated with a House.
"local government controlled land": see Local Law No.1 (Administration) 2015.
"Other Structure": Any building of any sort situated on private-land, plus any fence, shed, or other structure adjacent to, or associated with any Other Structure.
Overhead-Services": Power-lines, Power-poles, NBN cables and similar utility service infrastructure
"Pruning": Tree-pruning as per Australian Standards AS4373-2007 - Pruning of Amenity Trees.’
"Tree-Fall": The fall of any tree and/or the fall of any limb of any tree.
Petition Outcome:
The petition was presented by Cr Shane Rendalls at the General Meeting held on Wednesday 21 May 2025. The matter was defined as operational in nature and referred to the Chief Executive Officer for consideration.
Council investigated the petition request and provided a response back to the Principal Petitioner on 17 June 2025 as follows:
We appreciate your time your time and effort in raising this matter and acknowledge the concerns you have outlined regarding community safety, amenity, and protection of overhead infrastructure, particularly in relation to the impact of fallen trees during the recent extreme weather events of Tropical Cyclone Alfred.
In conjunction to your petition, Council passed a Notice of Motion on 16 April 2025 (moved by Cr Colley), which endorsed a review of current tree management practices. This decision included a requirement for officers to engage with our peer Council’s from North Queensland whom experience cyclones and extreme weather events more frequently than Redlands, with a view to better understand the strategies they employ to reduce vegetation-related risks during extreme weather events. Council officers are currently undertaking this review to assess whether improvements can be made to existing practices and ultimately a decision for Council if they would like us to amend our existing Tree Management policy.
We can confirm that the matters raised in your petition will be considered as part of this ongoing review.
Council already has a set of policies and guidelines in place which guide our current approach to tree management, including:
- The Natural Environment Policy
- The Council Management of Trees on Council Owned or Controlled Land Guidelines
- The Management of tree maintenance requests and reports from the community
These provide the framework for maintaining a safe and sustainable urban forest and reflect our commitment to achieving a responsible balance between public safety, environmental value, amenity, and cost.
In terms of overhead service concerns across the city, Council has a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Energex, with quarterly meetings to coordinate vegetation management activities and identify improvements. Noting that Energex remains legally responsible for vegetation clearance around power infrastructure under the Electrical Safety Act. In addition to this, Council’s Disaster Management Team are currently coordinating a multi-agency debrief with Energex to identify any further efficiencies in light of learnings from Cyclone Alfred.
We thank you again for your submission and your ongoing interest in ensuring the safety and resilience of our community. Please be assured that Council will continue to work proactively with its partners to explore and implement best practices in vegetation and risk management across the city.