Shoal Point vegetation vandalism causes $7000 damage
Mackay council will fork out more than $7300 to beat back two acts of ‘extremely significant’ vegetation vandalism involving removal of trees and poisoning. Councillors are fed up and considering tougher action to stop the carnage.
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UPDATE: Mackay council will review its vegetation vandalism policy in response to a series of shocking attacks in recent months.
Deputy Mayor Karen May said possible changes would include the “levels of intervention” the council might pursue to stop the carnage.
“That is something we have spoken about, reviewing the policy and looking at the levels of intervention and the consequence of those episodes occurring,” she said, adding the review would take place in September or October.
The latest acts of vandalism have damaged coastal areas in Shoal Point at Hodges Rd and Belangason Way, with 21 trees vandalised between the two sites.
Councillor Justin Englert expressed his dismay at the council meeting on Wednesday and suggested a tougher policy was needed to combat the threat.
“I am becoming very tired of seeing it,” he said.
“I am looking forward to the new policy coming forward.”
In response to the vandalism in Shoal Point, the council voted to put up billboards and replant trees in the area.
Ms May acknowledged after the meeting the remedies were often insufficient and many replanted trees were vandalised again.
“Unless you can actually get a fine in place and put that order out, it is very difficult,” she said.
There have been no arrests to date for the acts of vandalism.
Initial: Vegetation vandals have struck again, this time at two spots in Shoal Point.
At Hodges Rd, at least 11 trees were vandalised, including the complete removal of three trees.
The damage to the foreshore vegetation area was reported to the council on June 17 and the council has labelled the vandalism “extremely significant”.
At nearby Belangason Way, at least 10 trees were possibly poisoned between 2019 and 2022 in the coastal vegetation area.
The vandalism was reported to the council on July 25 and it has also been labelled extremely significant.
To remedy the damage, the council is expected to fork out more than $7300 between the two sites.
At the Hodges Rd location, the council will likely install a large billboard sized 1.8m by 3.6m and replant trees at a rate of 3:1, meaning 33 new trees will be planted.
At Belangason Way, the council proposes to install a 600mm by 900mm sign and replant trees at a rate of 2:1, or 20 trees.
The replanting costs also include six months of maintenance.
For both sites, the council proposes to leave the vegetation in place and monitor the area with regular inspections.
The council adopted an amended vegetation vandalism policy in October 2019, which outlines how the council should respond to deliberate tree and vegetation vandalism events on council-managed land.
Councillors will vote on Wednesday on the proposed response to the vandalism.
The latest acts in vandalism at Shoal Point follow from an extreme case detected at the O’Brien Esplanade from earlier in the year.
Council officers reported vegetation had been cut with a saw and found evidence of possible poisoning of other trees.
About 40 trees were previously cut down at the site in March 2018.
Vandals have also hit Haliday Bay further to the north.
Council officers at both sites spoke with nearby property owners but it had “not been possible to gather evidence proving the identity of the person responsible for the vandalism”.
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