❓ Dr. Pettitt questions the government's stance on local government tree registers and broader tree canopy protection efforts, while the Minister responds by highlighting support for voluntary registers and an upcoming urban greening strategy.
AnsweredQoN 66Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
TREE REGISTERS
66. Hon Dr BRAD PETTITT to the minister representing the
Minister for Planning:
I
refer to the minutes from the Town of Bassendean council meeting on Tuesday
night, which include an amendment from the minister to significant tree
registers.
(1) Does the
government intend to stop all local governments from having significant tree
registers that include trees that are not registered by landowners?
(2) If yes to
(1), will this policy apply only to new schemes, or will it also apply to local
government schemes that already include trees that were registered without
landowners' permission?
(3) Given that this government scrapped the strategic
assessment of the Perth and Peel regions in December 2022, which would have protected 170 000 hectares of
urban bushland, and recently rejected
bids from the City of Nedlands and the City of South Perth to require development
approval to remove significant trees from private land, what is this government
doing to increase the tree canopy and protect mature trees across the Perth
metropolitan area?
66. Hon Dr BRAD PETTITT to the minister representing the
Minister for Planning:
I
refer to the minutes from the Town of Bassendean council meeting on Tuesday
night, which include an amendment from the minister to significant tree
registers.
(1) Does the
government intend to stop all local governments from having significant tree
registers that include trees that are not registered by landowners?
(2) If yes to
(1), will this policy apply only to new schemes, or will it also apply to local
government schemes that already include trees that were registered without
landowners' permission?
(3) Given that this government scrapped the strategic
assessment of the Perth and Peel regions in December 2022, which would have protected 170 000 hectares of
urban bushland, and recently rejected
bids from the City of Nedlands and the City of South Perth to require development
approval to remove significant trees from private land, what is this government
doing to increase the tree canopy and protect mature trees across the Perth
metropolitan area?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question. The following response has been provided by the
Minister for Planning.
(1)–(2) The
state government supports the establishment of voluntary significant tree
registers through local planning schemes as a mechanism to protect trees on
private land.
(3) The Cook
government has committed to prepare an urban greening strategy that will take a
whole-of-government approach to promoting and enhancing tree canopy and
greening across the Perth and Peel region. This builds on several other initiatives
introduced by the current state government such as the Design WA suite of state
planning policies, which include provisions that require and incentivise
retention of existing trees, new tree planting, deep soil zones and soft
landscaping along with communal and private open space in low to higher density
developments.
some notice of the question. The following response has been provided by the
Minister for Planning.
(1)–(2) The
state government supports the establishment of voluntary significant tree
registers through local planning schemes as a mechanism to protect trees on
private land.
(3) The Cook
government has committed to prepare an urban greening strategy that will take a
whole-of-government approach to promoting and enhancing tree canopy and
greening across the Perth and Peel region. This builds on several other initiatives
introduced by the current state government such as the Design WA suite of state
planning policies, which include provisions that require and incentivise
retention of existing trees, new tree planting, deep soil zones and soft
landscaping along with communal and private open space in low to higher density
developments.
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