Anger as tree-clearing begins at Vic Park amid public consultation
Four days after opening public consultation on its Victoria Park Masterplan, the State Government mass-cleared mature trees in the park.
On Monday, the State announced that it would be taking on the thoughts of the community in the development of Brisbane Stadium and surrounding precinct in the heritage-listed Victoria Park.
Yesterday, four days after public consultation opened on its Victoria Park Masterplan, heavy machinery moved into the park to clear mature trees from the site.
Angry protestors claimed there was no current public project validation report and there were only early concept designs for the Victoria Park Olympic precinct.
“This makes an absolute mockery of the consultation process,” said Save Victoria Park spokesperson Sue Bremner.
Bremner added that observers reported distressing scenes of possums, cockatoos and other birdlife fleeing the trees, and claimed that no wildlife spotters were sighted during the felling.
“The Premier needs to explain why he has ordered this irreversible destructive work to happen at Victoria Park Barrambin this week,” Bremner said.
A spokesperson from the office of the Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie said the State Government was “getting on with the job” of getting Olympic infrastructure back on track.
“We’re ensuring more than two thirds of green space is preserved through the Victoria Park Precinct Legacy Plan – a state shaping project that will connect and activate the surrounding area and ensure it remains free public space, open to locals and visitors year-round,” the spokesperson said.
A spokesperson from the Games Independent Infrastructure and Coordination Authority (GIICA) said wildlife spotters were present during the felling processes yesterday.
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“Strict environmental and heritage protocols are in place during clearing works to identify and relocate any fauna found onsite,” the spokesperson said. “This includes a number of fauna spotter catchers and heritage personnel. Working with ecologists, the team will follow strict relocation protocols for any fauna or eggs found onsite.”
Protestors claimed that multiple Section 10 applications lodged by First Nations elders to protect the cultural heritage of the site under the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act remained unresolved before Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt.
Bremner said highly critical of the mass clearing happening while the site was currently being assessed for protection by the Minister.
“We call on the state government to immediately halt the clearing, respect the federal legal process currently underway, and commit to public consultation in good faith,” she said.
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