Gold Coast hinterland and hospitals to be cleared of cyclone-damaging trees

The axe is to be taken to trees in key areas of the Gold Coast to prevent a recurrence of the power outages brought about by ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred. Read where the chainsaws will fire up.

The axe is to be taken to trees in hinterland suburbs and around key infrastructure to prevent a recurrence of power outages brought about by ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred.

Mayor Tom Tate is to write to Treasurer David Janetzki to get his support for both levels of government to conduct a review of trees in critical infrastructure corridors across the city.

Suburbs given priority by the City will include Reedy Creek, Worongary, Tallai and Bonogin, while public utilities targeted will include the Gold Coast University Hospital (GCUH).

Mr Tate said about 150,000 residents were without power – many for a week or longer – after Alfred struck the Gold Coast.

“These impacts include very real risks to people’s mental and physical health and the loss of millions of dollars to local businesses,” Mr Tate said.

He added that the City must “redouble our efforts” to minimise the risk of major power outages and work with Energex.

Energex workers cutting tree branches on the Gold Coast after Cyclone Alfred.

A priority was to locate trees which would be cutting power to the city’s hospitals, he said, after power was cut to GCUH during the cyclone, leaving the busy hospital reliant on generators.

Hinterland-based councillor Glenn Tozer, who pushed for a mayoral minute on the matter backed at Tuesday’s full council meeting, said: “Waiting for Energex to take a more proactive approach is not the best path.”

Council officers explained that Energex was responsible for maintaining trees under power lines on public property. Council only controlled the planting of suitable species.

Energex could provide pruning and advice regarding power lines on private properties.

Cr Glenn Tozer — pushing for tree audit after cyclone. Picture: Glenn Campbell.

Deputy Mayor Donna Gates asked officers about an audit which began after the major storm that devastated parts of the northern Gold Coast on Christmas Day 2023.

Officers said about 20,000 trees were inspected and 800 were removed.

Mr Tozer said the new audit would be an important body of work to assess possible risks to loss of power during major weather events.

“I have been pleased to work with the Office of the Mayor on this initiative, seeking to work collaboratively with Energex on trees impacting powerlines and nearby,” he said.

“There’s little doubt that hinterland suburbs like Reedy Creek, Worongary, Tallai and Bonogin will benefit from this audit and collaborative plan with the state government and Energex.”

‘ZOMBIE TREES’ BLAMED FOR OUTAGES

The last of thousands of Gold Coast homes left in the dark following Cyclone Alfred were finally being reconnected on Sunday amid claims the Glitter Strip got priority over western suburbs.

Energex blamed “zombie trees” for increasing outages in some areas, with the number of people without electricity over the weekend rising by several hundred properties.

The waterlogged trees fell several days after the cyclone hit, taking power lines with them.

Energex staff, working on shifts from 7.30am to 8.30pm, had told residents: “It’s a mess, it’s really quite difficult. There’s trees down across multiple areas of the network.”

Energex workers restoring power in the Gold Coast hinterland after Cyclone Alfred.

Hinterland-based councillor Glenn Tozer and Mudgeeraba MP Ros Bates provided updates on social media as Energex workers arrived in rural suburbs west of the Pacific Motorway. Many angry residents vented about the delays.

A Bonogin resident wrote: “The vibe in the hinterland is that the beaches are a priority because of the Easter holidays coming up and tourism. Are there any extra resources we can allocate to the hinterland.

“There are literally people who cannot leave their houses still because of fallen trees and broken power lines, and they feel the east is getting priority over the western side of the city.”

Councillor Tozer has copped criticism because he took a safety first perspective and asked residents to consider not driving on dangerous roads.

Energex workers cutting tree branches on the Gold Coast after Cyclone Alfred.

He told the Bulletin the worst areas left for lack of power early on Sunday were Worongary, Mudgeeraba, Tallai and Bonogin.

“I can’t guarantee anything, I’m not an Energex person. My hope is that as many as possible will be reconnected today (Sunday). If there’s a few hanging over, it’s a product how complex the network is and how many trees have been a challenge,” he said.

“We got Mudgeeraba down to 707 yesterday (without power) and then it went back to 800. The same with Worongary, we got it down to 600 and now it’s back up to 800. They are calling them zombie trees, it’s a tree that structurally damaged that doesn’t fall down in the storm and then three days later because of the wet ground and issues around the tree it falls down and the network is out again.”

Cr Tozer said there was a misunderstanding among some residents of what each level of government was responsible for after a weather event.

“Whilst the local councillor might be the most accessible and available person, it doesn’t mean they can fix every level of government’s responsibility,” he said.

Mr Tozer rejected there was “any difference between the beach and the bush” in council addressing services. The City wants beaches ready for the April school holidays.

Energex workers at Bonogin in the Gold Coast hinterland after Cyclone Alfred.

“Not at all. It’s just different. The issues in the hinterland are primarily on private property. There are some road issues, don’t get me wrong,” he said.

“But the beaches are a council responsibility. We take that seriously. We will eventually get to the parks. The challenge that we are facing in the hinterland is that people’s expectation we will repair their private properties. There isn’t any legislation that allows us to do that.”

An Energex spokesman said 3900 customers remained without electricity on Sunday morning after more than 5100 customers were restored on Saturday.

“Yesterday (Saturday) our crews found a number of trees and branches that have fallen in the Gold Coast region, several days after the passing of ex-Cyclone Alfred, and after our initial damage assessment was undertaken, which hindered our progress,” the spokesman said.

“These occurred in the Currumbin Valley, Tallai and Worongary areas. This was also observed during the severe weather event in the Gold Coast hinterland during Christmas 2023.

Cr Glenn Tozer — updating residents on power supplies. Picture: Glenn Campbell.

“Trees can fall several days after the impact of the event, due to rotten branches and trunks, or very wet ground.”

Energex said their “final day of work” would focus around Bonogin, Worongary, Mudgeeraba, Tallai, Mermaid Beach and Springbrook.

Other Gold Coast suburbs would include Currumbin Valley, Tugun, Elanora, Tallebudgera Valley, Tallebudgera, Currumbin Waters, Austinville, Labrador and Robina.

Ms Bates on Saturday told residents Energex had mobilised extra crews after finding more damage from trees. They had also mobilised a generator at The Pinnacle.

“Rest assured they have the resources assigned to restore network supply tomorrow (Sunday),” she said.

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Originally published as Gold Coast hinterland and hospitals to be cleared of cyclone-damaging trees