Woodpiles at 170 Toorak Road show the extent of land clearing.
By Catherine Watson
LOCAL conservationists have slammed “a paltry fine” imposed on an Inverloch man who cleared 31 mature trees and other native vegetation from his farm.
Darrin Taylor was fined $3800 in the Wonthaggi Court on February 2 for felling protected trees at 170 Toorak Road last May without a Local Laws Permit. He was also ordered to pay $1500 into Bass Coast Shire Council’s Environmental Fund.
Mr Taylor was discharged without conviction on an undertaking not to reoffend for the next 12 months. He was not required to revegetate the cleared land.
LOCAL conservationists have slammed “a paltry fine” imposed on an Inverloch man who cleared 31 mature trees and other native vegetation from his farm.
Darrin Taylor was fined $3800 in the Wonthaggi Court on February 2 for felling protected trees at 170 Toorak Road last May without a Local Laws Permit. He was also ordered to pay $1500 into Bass Coast Shire Council’s Environmental Fund.
Mr Taylor was discharged without conviction on an undertaking not to reoffend for the next 12 months. He was not required to revegetate the cleared land.
Mr Taylor owns several farms in the Inverloch area. The land clearing occurred on a farm directly opposite a large residential settlement. Ten massive woodpiles remain on the property.
Taylor initially pleaded not guilty but changed his plea during the mentions hearing. If the matter had gone to trial, he faced the prospect of 31 individual charges and a very substantial fine.
Under a 2022 amendment to the Bass Coast Local Laws*, a landholder requires a permit to cut, trim, lop or prune a protected tree, ie. where the circumference is over 155cms one metre above the ground.
If Taylor had applied for a Local Law Permit it would have cost him $6820 ($220 per tree for 31 trees), rather than the $3840 he was fined, though it would probably not have been granted.
Taylor initially pleaded not guilty but changed his plea during the mentions hearing. If the matter had gone to trial, he faced the prospect of 31 individual charges and a very substantial fine.
Under a 2022 amendment to the Bass Coast Local Laws*, a landholder requires a permit to cut, trim, lop or prune a protected tree, ie. where the circumference is over 155cms one metre above the ground.
If Taylor had applied for a Local Law Permit it would have cost him $6820 ($220 per tree for 31 trees), rather than the $3840 he was fined, though it would probably not have been granted.
| Bass Coast Shire Council’s website asks the community to report suspected illegal clearing of vegetation and the Post understands there were several complaints to the council during the clearing. A council officer went to the property but left after a discussion with a contractor. The clearing then continued. Several members of the South Gippsland Conservation Society and Wonthaggi Seedbank and Nursery were in court for the hearing and later expressed disappointment. Aileen Vening of the Seedbank said the council should have been able to stop the illegal tree felling. |  Significant Trees and Protected Trees * Under the Bass Coast Local Laws, a Significant Tree is one listed on the Bass Coast Significant Tree Register. A Protected Tree is a native tree over 155cms in circumference one metre above the ground. |
“It’s disheartening to work so hard to revegetate our shire and to see landowners able to remove vegetation with minimal penalties.
“Council has a Climate Action Plan and an Urban Forest Strategy to protect vegetation but the reality is very different on the ground.”
John Cuttriss from the South Gippsland Conservation Society said the case should have been prosecuted under statewide planning laws.
“The Local Laws only refer to individual trees while the planning regulations on native vegetation removal refer to all the elements of habitat, including trees, shrubs, herbs and grasses.”
Section 52.17 of the Bass Coast Planning Scheme, based on statewide legislation, requires landowners to apply for a planning permit to remove native vegetation.
While there are a number of exemptions, landowners are required to avoid native vegetation clearing if possible, to minimise and, if a planning permit is approved, to buy appropriate biodiversity offsets.
In 2022, Moyne Shire Council took a Peterborough landowner to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) after he cleared 1.2 hectares of native vegetation to make way for a proposed house with a sea view.
The landowner did not have a planning permit for the clearing and ignored a number of environmental overlays. VCAT ordered a Compulsory Conference, during which the landowner agreed to revegetate 12.5ha to the council’s satisfaction, and to pay council costs of $20,000.
In 2022, the Victorian Auditor General’s Office found that unauthorised clearing on private land was a significant factor in the continuing decline of native vegetation across the state.
“At present local government is largely responsible for monitoring and compliance of unauthorised clearing (and other elements of the regulations) but have few resources, support and sometimes willpower to undertake their role,” the VAGO report stated.
“For example, the report found that from July 2018 to June 2021 Baw Baw Shire received 69 community complaints for alleged unauthorised clearing, but took action in only 5 instances.”
“Council has a Climate Action Plan and an Urban Forest Strategy to protect vegetation but the reality is very different on the ground.”
John Cuttriss from the South Gippsland Conservation Society said the case should have been prosecuted under statewide planning laws.
“The Local Laws only refer to individual trees while the planning regulations on native vegetation removal refer to all the elements of habitat, including trees, shrubs, herbs and grasses.”
Section 52.17 of the Bass Coast Planning Scheme, based on statewide legislation, requires landowners to apply for a planning permit to remove native vegetation.
While there are a number of exemptions, landowners are required to avoid native vegetation clearing if possible, to minimise and, if a planning permit is approved, to buy appropriate biodiversity offsets.
In 2022, Moyne Shire Council took a Peterborough landowner to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) after he cleared 1.2 hectares of native vegetation to make way for a proposed house with a sea view.
The landowner did not have a planning permit for the clearing and ignored a number of environmental overlays. VCAT ordered a Compulsory Conference, during which the landowner agreed to revegetate 12.5ha to the council’s satisfaction, and to pay council costs of $20,000.
In 2022, the Victorian Auditor General’s Office found that unauthorised clearing on private land was a significant factor in the continuing decline of native vegetation across the state.
“At present local government is largely responsible for monitoring and compliance of unauthorised clearing (and other elements of the regulations) but have few resources, support and sometimes willpower to undertake their role,” the VAGO report stated.
“For example, the report found that from July 2018 to June 2021 Baw Baw Shire received 69 community complaints for alleged unauthorised clearing, but took action in only 5 instances.”