Livingstone Shire: Will council stop residents who take coastal vegetation management into their own hands?

If you live at the Capricorn Coast and you dabble in pruning, trimming or mowing vegetation in foreshore areas to improve the look of your patch, then you may want to think twice. ‘Big Brother’ may be watching you a little closer from now on.

Authorities know it is happening, but will they do anything to stop it?

The issue of Capricorn Coast residents taking foreshore vegetation management into their own hands to improve the look of their own patches is under the microscope.

While some of the residents who partake in pruning, trimming or mowing vegetation on council-managed land adjacent to their properties may think they are doing the authority a favour, they are actually breaking local laws.

At a recent Livingstone Shire Council meeting, the issue reared its head as councillors discussed an officer’s recommendation for the Shire to adopt a tree and vegetation vandalism policy (the first of its type for Livingstone).

Principal Sustainability officer Matthew Baldock told councillors the policy provided a framework for addressing cases of tree and vegetation vandalism in a “consistent and transparent” way.

“We’re continuing to see this (vandalism) particularly along our fragile coastal foreshore areas,” Mr Baldock said.

“So the policy document really states council’s position... and reflects five key principles.”

In summary, those principles include the long-term protection of trees and vegetation on council-managed land, the identification and prosecution of perpetrators, and community education.

Mayor Andy Ireland and councillor Rhodes Watson were vocal when this issue was discussed at council.

Mayor Andy Ireland asked Mr Baldock about residents who were currently maintaining “foreshore and/or other areas” within the Shire.

“Are we going to be talking to them and saying ‘cease and desist’?

“Or how is this going to be approached, because it’s going to be a fairly sensitive issue?”

Mr Baldock replied saying this policy was “probably more focussed on vegetation vandalism” and there was a separate process occurring through the council’s infrastructure department “looking at actual assets and structures on those foreshore areas”.

“By having a policy in for the vegetation side, I guess we’ve covered ourselves - we’ve made it very clear what we’re trying to achieve,” Mr Baldock said.

Mr Baldock added that if residents had concerns about a fire hazard or any hazard on a foreshore, the council was “happy to look at that.”

“But what we’re saying to people is ‘don’t take things into your own hands - don’t go and deal with the matter, call council first if you think there is a problem’.

“Otherwise, you shouldn’t be taking down any vegetation on council-managed land.”

Long grass adjacent to the roadside of the Scenic Highway at Kinka Beach, Yeppoon on July 7, 2022.

Mayor Ireland said he did not disagree with that, but he often received phone calls about certain sections of the Shire’s foreshore.

“And of recent times it’s been along Kinka (Beach), where we’ve got spear grass in great degrees of prevalence,” Mr Ireland said.

“And I guess some questions have been asked from residents along Kinka Beach Road, you know, what’s council doing about that sort of stuff?

“It’s all part of the same policy about how are we going to maintain our foreshores.”

Mr Baldock said the council’s pest management officers were able to deal with some of those things.

The Esplanade at Kinka Beach, Yeppoon, on July 7, 2022.

Cr Rhodes Watson said there were residents living adjacent to foreshores who had undertaken vegetation management not to create views, they were “just mowing” in front of their residences.

Mr Watson asked when did that change to “being on the wrong side of the law basically?”

Mr Baldock replied: “They’re doing that on, what is effectively council-managed land still, so.

“And again, our preference I guess from a natural environmental perspective is that they don’t turf that area, they don’t mow that area.

“You know, a lot of these areas are meant to be left in their natural state.”

Mr Watson said in some cases, residents doing their own vegetation management on council-managed land had been going on for 20 years or more.

“And it’s actually each householder who bought the house, continued on with the work.

“And how do you stop that because you’re going to end up with a lot of upset people?”

Councillors were told the Shire’s shoreline management plan review would assist in this area and help determine “where the line should be.”

Vegetation along The Esplanade at Kinka Beach, Yeppoon, on July 7, 2022.

Council staffing and policing of policies was also discussed, as was sourcing external funding.

Cr Andrea Friend sought clarity from officers that if this policy was approved, the council would not immediately “target” those people who had been mowing council-managed land for 20 years, and she got that assurance.

Mr Baldock said it was more blatant offending that would be targeted and the rest would be a “progressive thing”.

Councillors voted unanimously to approve the tree and vegetation vandalism policy.