Tree by tree and hollow by hollow, regional coastal villages are being made over into the almost sterile landscapes of distant metropolises

 

All up and down the NSW coastal zone local residents are involved in conversations like this and, as in this case, local government staff are well aware of what is happening.

Concerning DA 2022/0100 - tree removal and erection of a shed - at 35 and 37 Riverview St, Iluka, at the mouth of the Clarence River estuary:

Click on image to enlarge

Melaleuca quinquenervia. Current common names: Broad-leaved Paperbark or alternatively Paperbark Tea Tree.

Tree grows 10 to 15m high and can live to more than 100 years. It produces clusters of cream to white flower spikes in summer, attracting birds, bats, bees and insects. Koala have been known to shelter in mature paperbark tree stands during storms or excessive heat. 

Grows on seasonally inundated coastal & near coastal plains, along stream banks and in low-lying coastal swamps.

Melaleuca quinquenervia is found as plantings in the grounds of The Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust.

Hollow in mature paperbark prior to removal on lots 35 to 37 Riverview Street, Iluka. IMAGE: Contributed

Section of a felled paperbark on site showing hollow

REMARKS:

"They are dreadful images,.. and are pretty damning of the approval process. Those hollows should have been identified prior to clearing, and normally there should have been a requirement to have an ecologist or animal rescue person present at the time of felling. Microbats also live under the bark of those Melaleucas.

Of course, as Council refused to approve the hiring of an ecologist, they have no suitably qualified person to assess DAs, and are therefore at the mercy of the developer and what they chose to tell council.

[Email 11 July 2023, copied to Clarence Valley Council, councillors and relevant staff, transcript excerpt supplied]

NOTE: Paperbark tree taxonomy and general description have been altered since this post was first published.