Yarra Ranges Councillor Fiona McAllister taken to court over trees

A Yarra Ranges councillor has hit out at her council, who she says wanted to fine her more than $100k and get her criminally convicted over her “accidental” removal of five trees.

Cr McAllister took responsibility for the five trees being illegally cut down.

A council in Melbourne’s outer east has taken one of its own councillors to court for illegally cutting down trees on her property, leaving the former mayor with a hefty fine and an enforcement order.

But the Yarra Ranges councillor says she got off much lighter than the council wanted, after its legal team sought a criminal conviction against her and tens of thousands of dollars in fines for the “accidental” offence.

Councillor Fiona McAllister was fined $2000 and ordered to plant and care for another 15 eucalyptus trees after she cut down five trees without the council’s permission.

Cr Fiona McAllister pleaded guilty to cutting down the trees.

Cr McAllister said a contractor “accidentally, against instructions” took out some small trees on her Healesville property, which is located within a Yarra Ranges’ Rural Conservation Zone, where a permit it required to remove any vegetation — even dead trees.

A neighbour’s complaint alerted the council to the illegal removal, which happened in May 2017.

Cr McAllister said she accepted responsibility for the offence, but the issue escalated to court when she refused to accept the council’s “excessive” claim the offset cost for the loss of vegetation was $17,000.

She pleaded guilty to illegally cutting down the trees before Ringwood Magistrates’ Court in August 2018, where the magistrate fined her $2000.

But the former mayor said the council’s lawyer pushed for the magistrate to record a criminal conviction against her name, and argued she should be fined up to $100,000, citing cases where offenders had removed 100 trees.

Cr Fiona McAllister says the council’s course of action was “completely out of proportion”.

“I was shocked,” she said.

“That’s completely out of proportion — cracking a walnut with a sledgehammer, without any consideration.”

The council’s application for an enforcement order against Cr McAllister to remedy the loss of vegetation went before VCAT in June.

Cr McAllister said the council continued to push for her to have to pay an offset cost of $17,000 right up until the decision.

On August 30, the tribunal denied the council’s enforcement order requests, instead deciding it was fair Cr McAllister plant 15 eucalyptus trees on her property and maintain them for at least two years.

She said she was “absolutely thrilled” with the outcome, which would cost her about $500.

Yarra Ranges Council did not respond to Lilydale & Yarra Valley Leader’s questions about Cr McAllister’s claims it sought a criminal conviction and the amount of fines it sought.

Yarra Ranges Council social and economic development director James Collins said the council followed “a thorough process when investigating compliance issues”.

“That process is applied consistently to anyone who breaches the law within our municipality,’’ he said.

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“This includes making every attempt to settle compliance issues outside of the courts.

“The landowner was offered several opportunities to rectify the breach by the payment of a fixed penalty and to rectify the land in accordance with the Yarra Ranges Planning Scheme.”

Cr McAllister said the council’s mantra was to prioritise education, but it had sought to apply “the most extreme penalties inappropriately”.

She said her experience was not an isolated case and she had supported community members who had “been backed into a corner like this”.

“That’s me, imagine they’re doing that to other people,” she said.