We need a change of policy on large trees in urban areas

This is not a new topic for me but something that I have pushed for, for many years.

The tragic death of 3 people in the last windstorm in Melbourne in three separate incidents, one involving a child of 4, was foreseeable and avoidable. On top of this there was hundreds of homes and cars damaged by falling trees.

I held off at the time to allow friends and family to mourn their loss but today there has just been another alert for Melbourne of strong winds with warnings that more trees may be uprooted or lose branches.

My position on huge trees started when I was a young loss adjuster and attended a loss in the western suburbs of Brisbane where one tree had fallen during a storm severely damaging four homes and an aviary. Luckily no one was injured but the caged birds were either killed or escaped much to the distress of the home owner who was more upset about this than the tens of thousands of dollars of damage done to the home.

In this case the whole tree fell over and it took two tip trucks of soil to fill the massive hole left by the root ball. This part of the claim of course was not insured.

I would hate to think how many claims I have attended due to falling trees or tree limbs, several sadly involving death or serious injury as well as damage to property.

If you think about it, if there was a dangerous animal causing injury or death the local authorities would be straight out and remove the risk. Trees however appear to have become more important than human life.

I am not for one minute suggesting that we should live in a desert or cut down every tree in Australia. In fact, I love trees and have several growing in my yard but I was very careful what I planted after I first moved in, removing any that I considered dangerous or had the potential to become an issue. I replaced them with ones suitable for the suburbs.

Clearly some trees including many native Australian trees should not be grown in suburb settings.

For example, although eucalyptus trees are extremely drought tolerant, one of their survival mechanisms during periods of hot and dry weather is to shed a limb in order to preserve the rest of their structure. This shedding allows the remaining parts of the tree to survive on what little moisture remains. These trees are not called ‘widow makers’ for nothing.

Add to this, the risk of the spread of fire, and damage to drain pipes, foundations, fences, paths and driveways and you really need to carefully think through what trees you plant. Keep in mind just how big it will grow and whether it is one of those that has a tendency to drop limbs or fall.

Once planted, keep a regular eye on it and if it looks stressed or you see a tree branch hanging off another limb (see below) have it seen to before it causes death, injury or damage.

One week after this dangerous limb was removed another one fell. The owners then had the whole tree inspected but the local authority only allowed 10% to be removed. This to me is a failure to protect the home owner and the public bearing in mind the tree is right beside the footpath.

On a related subject, since COVID-19 hit I have done a lot more walking around my suburb and was surprised to see so many big brick, concrete block and/or stone front fences that are clearly not structurally sound. Large trees while not always the obvious cause are clearly involved in many.

While a liability claim waiting to happen I am more worried about the injury a collapse of this wall could inflict.