Hernani residents have been distressed to discover that the willows in our river at Main Water have been poisoned. It is public land on the stock route. This is our swimming place and a designated camping spot for the Bicentennial National Trail.
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The gum trees were killed long ago so only the willows were holding the banks together in the floods. What was a beautiful place now looks ugly and dead.
It is very hard to understand what can be gained by killing them.
Name supplied, withheld on request
Why council is liable
In their letter to me rejecting my claim for compensation for damage to my car caused by a falling dead Sally Wattle tree on Hydes Creek Rd, Council denies that they have been negligent or that they have any legal obligation to me as a result of the incident. It is common knowledge that dead Sally Wattle trees are particularly prone to falling at any time and without notice. If the personnel who are supposed to carry out regular tree inspections on Bellingen roads are unaware that dead Sally Wattle trees pose a real and present danger then Council has been negligent in not making sure they do know this. If they are aware of the danger and don’t pre-emptively remove dead Sally Wattles or advise Council staff of specific locations of the danger, then they and by extension Council are both negligent. If Council is aware of a safety problem and does not take pre-emptive action then Council is negligent. If Council is not aware of a common safety problem then it is negligent in not having instituted procedures to be informed of, and deal with such problems. I have identified, marked, and photographed at least 14 dead Sally Wattles on Hydes Creek Rd within just one kilometre of the tree which fell immediately in front of my moving vehicle and which, had I been just one or two seconds ahead of where I was when it fell, would have badly injured or even killed me. These Sally Wattles have all been dead for years and continue to pose a constant risk to all road users, including the school bus which travels past all of them twice daily. If words mean anything, Council has been negligent in not having dealt with them, and should reimburse me for the damage which it could and should have prevented but didn’t. And by the way, despite being in shock I unblocked and cleared the road myself using my own chainsaw.
Tim Fraser, Hydes Creek
