Council’s handling of fire hazard questioned

Fire hazard on Russell Island prompted a complaint to Redland City Council

I’m Ann Hagen, a resident of Russell Island, here to talk about fire hazard issues and local laws. Some here know me as a Community Champion trained to run an evacuation centre but I’m here as a private individual.

I believe a fire hazard I reported near the Russell Island shops in December last year was dealt with wrongly under local laws and I’m asking for a rethink of how council deals with a reported fire hazard.

I’ll also talk about a Facebook group that all relevant council staff should view – Redland City Council Vegetation Neglect – Southern Moreton Bay Island Blocks. It’s had many photos of properties including council blocks that need attention.

First the situation that worried me.

I drive from Canaipa Point through Fernbrook Avenue to park near Russell Island shops. Early last December I saw large trees being felled on what was at least a double block. Over a fortnight in sunny dry summer weather I saw the branches and leaves of these felled trees turn brown.

Council response

On December 18 I reported it to council as a fire hazard.

That day I posted photos to the Facebook vegetation neglect group and I referred the council officer taking my complaint to those photos but was told the site wasn’t looked at.

After Christmas I received a letter with a reference to my complaint about “overgrown, unsightly” vegetation. I was surprised and alarmed by that classification.

Nothing happened to clear the blocks in January – in fact more trees were chopped down and left to crisp in the summer sun on I think another three adjoining blocks, one of them fronting the main eastern island route Canaipa Rd.

In mid-January I phoned council to say more trees had been felled and to find out what if anything was happening but the responsible officer was out and didn’t return my call until at least a week later, I think her call was actually made in early February when the clearing had started. The hazard was removed by mid-February.

I believe the handling of my complaint under local laws was wrong. It was seemingly handled under local law 3 part 3- overgrown and unsightly allotments.

I believe it should’ve been handled under local law 3 part 4 – fires and fire hazards. That’s what I reported.

If you look at section 15 examples of fire hazards include “dry vegetation that could be easily ignited or other flammable materials.”

And is sending out a compliance notice under either part of the local law good enough for a fire hazard near a main island road and the shops?

Shouldn’t council be clearing it fast and billing the owner? And were there any penalties in this case?

There needs to be a rethink I believe because if someone chops down huge trees near properties next summer and they go tinder dry they should be removed as soon as possible.

I believe that had this fire hazard been located near Victoria Point Shops and homes or near another populated centre it would have been acted on much faster. We islanders were lucky that nobody set it alight.

Finally relevant council staff and councillors should keep an eye on the Redland City Council Vegetation Neglect Southern Moreton Bay Islands Blocks Facebook page. Many islanders don’t have ADSL or a big broadband plan and duplicating large photo files to send to council comes at a cost.

There are photos of neglected council blocks and dangerous trees. And there are comments about a lack of back burning in the south and concerns about the area around Sandy Beach.

I’d urge all those responsible to look at this and I’d urge a review of process and a change in thinking about how fire hazards are dealt with on the islands.

Ann Hagen
Speech to Redland City Council – 9 May 2018

This speech was made to Redland City Council’s public meeting on 9th May 2018.

You can view Ms Hagen’s speech on the Council’s meeting video recording, commencing at 22:50 minutes.

Published by Redlands2030 – 17 May 2018