RR Phantom
Location : Wasted Space Job/hobbies : Cayman Islands Actuary
| Subject: 'Free market' is winning: OZschwitz government struggles to stop people killing protected trees - YaY! Tue May 20, 2014 8:02 pm | |
| The ACT government is struggling to crack down on people who deliberately kill or remove protected trees because of difficulties gathering evidence, with just one individual prosecuted last year.
Under the Tree Protection Act, introduced in 2005, “damage” to a protected tree includes poisoning, ringbarking, removing, lopping, pollarding, major pruning and “anything else” that causes the tree to die, reduces its expected life, or adversely affects its health or appearance.
Last year one person was prosecuted and fined $250 for illegally removing a regulated tree and three caution letters were issued for breaches of the act, figures from Territory and Municipal Services (TAMS) reveal.
Urban treescapes manager Michael Brice said it was “very difficult” to prosecute offenders who breached the act as witnesses rarely came forward.
“People generally don’t want to get their neighbours offside so we can’t prosecute or pursue,” he said.
“They are breaking the law and it should not be treated any different to other breaches or breaks of the law.”
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/government-struggles-to-stop-people-killing-protected-trees-20140520-zrilh.html |
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