Toowoomba escarpment land clearing by Defence Housing Australia to be probed by federal Department of Environment

The ‘unauthorised’ clearing of hundreds of trees on the Toowoomba escarpment has drawn the attention of the federal government, which has launched an investigation.

The federal government has launched an investigation into the “unauthorised” clearing of trees on the Toowoomba escarpment late last year.

Community activists in Mount Lofty raised questions in November over the bulldozing of hundreds of trees on land owned by Defence Housing Australia.

The site was the subject of a contentious housing project that was rejected by the Toowoomba Regional Council in 2020.

Drone footage showed an extensive area being cleared along the escarpment, with DHA later confirming far more trees were cleared than had been ordered.

In a January letter to Save Mount Lofty group president Shaen Egan, the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water revealed the incident was “under assessment”.

An aerial shot of the Toowoomba escarpment near Mount Lofty, which shows significant tree-clearing by land owner Defence Housing Australia.

“The department is currently making inquiries into the alleged vegetation clearing you have reported, including how it may relate to the proposed action referred by DHA,” environment compliance branch head Sam Hush wrote.

“As the matter is currently under assessment, the department will not provide further comment.”

A Defence Housing Australia spokeswoman reaffirmed the entity’s stance that the clearing had not been approved.

“DHA is aware of an area of unauthorised vegetation clearing that has occurred at its Mount Lofty site and is continuing to investigate the matter,” she said in a statement.

“DHA did not approve this unauthorised vegetation clearing and has recently been in communication with the department regarding the issue.

“DHA will work with the department regarding any further actions required.”

Chris Meibusch. Picture: Kevin Farmer

Speaking to The Chronicle last year, Save Mount Lofty group member Chris Meibusch said he was concerned about DHA’s commitment to managing the site.

“What we’ve got to do is keep the issue focused on DHA’s failure to manage the property, and this is another example of it,” he said.

“There is a concern that this area has been identified as (containing) critical koala habitat, and that has implications.”