Tree removal powers “loophole”

Kim Waters
POWERCOR’S removal of hundreds of protected roadside trees without council permission will go unpunished despite the objections of residents on the Bellarine Peninsula and Surf Coast, according to a council spokesperson.
City of Greater Geelong general manager city services Gary Van Driel said council would not take legal action against Powercor’s vegetation management contractor Vemco after the company cut down and poisoned hundreds of trees during power line clearing works.
Mr Van Driel said council had been involved in “a number” of discussions with Vemco but was “satisfied” the company had complied with new State Government Electrical Safety Regulations.
In a statement to the Independent in November a council spokesperson confirmed power companies were required to notify council prior to the “commencement of vegetation clearing works” despite the new regulations.
Geelong Environment Council president Joan Lindros was “disappointed” with the decision.
“We’re disappointed with the fact that there was a loophole this company got through and it shouldn’t have been there,’ she said.
Surfers’ Environmental Pro-tection Group’s Graeme Stockton labelled the new regulations a “knee jerk” reaction to the Black Saturday bushfire disaster.
“Council has lost the power now to be notified of these works and without that accountability we’re going to be a lot worse off.”