Penalties for illegal tree removal may increase ten-fold to protect Adelaide’s canopy

People who remove trees around Adelaide homes without getting permission face massive new penalties in a bid to protect the city’s shrinking canopy.

Penalties for illegal tree removal should be increased ten-fold and more mature trees should be protected from “needless destruction”, a parliamentary committee has recommended.

More than 75,000 trees are destroyed without replacement each year across metropolitan Adelaide, with private land in the inner metropolitan suburbs worst affected by the destruction.

The committee, which examined the shrinking canopy, received 230 public submissions and this week delivered 15 unanimous recommendations to parliament.

A parliamentary committee has recommended tougher new penalties for the illegal removal of trees.

They included an increase in fees for the legal removal of protected trees and the tenfold increase in penalties for illegal removal.

Under the changes, fees for legal removal of trees would rise from $326 to $3000 for regulated trees, and from $489 to $4000 for trees classed as “significant”.

Accordingly, fines for illegal removal would rise to $30,000 and $40,000.

It also recommended tightening the definition of regulated and significant trees to protect more mature trees, and establishing a new Urban Forest Fund to channel money into planning trees in suburbs suffering tree loss.

Committee chair Jayne Stinson said “no one wants to live in a concrete jungle”.

“More and more, Adelaideans are asking that trees in our suburbs are better protected from development,” she said.

“People don’t want to see their neighbourhoods stripped of beautiful trees that provide habitat, shade, and clean air.

“They want their kids to have a tree to climb and a shady spot to relax.”

Ms Stinson said innovative and inventive ways must be found to supply affordable housing without chainsawing mature trees for no good reason.

“These 15 recommendations are based on expert advice to the seven-month inquiry and provide a launch point for immediate government reform and investment,” she said.

“I’m calling on the government to carefully consider these unanimous and bipartisan recommendations and adopt them as soon as possible.”