Tree-chainers final protest fails to stop destruction

It ended with a bang, rather than a whimper.

 Giant pincer claws of a 20-tonne excavator with a grabber arm signalled abrupt close of the 18-month fight by locals to save hundreds of trees at south Orange from a proposed sport stadium precinct.

 Last-ditch campaign saw dozens of locals create a social-distancing-safe chain across the proposed stadium site adjacent to Brabham Sports complex where the 8500 stadium is proposed to be built.

 Dozens of mature Pinus radiata species, and at least one beautiful box gum, were removed in first stage of the project

 In the end, not a wet winter, and full Statewide lockdown, could save the more-than 200 trees finally targeted for destruction.

 Despite the forlorn chance of saving the trees, a group of nearly 30 last-ditch protestors met at the site recently on the same-day that Mayor Reg Kidd held a news conference to give the tree removal the final green light.

 Long-term opponents of the tree removal, believed that the site for the stadium could have gone to any number of other more-suitable locations in the Colour City, while the decommissioned golf course would have made a perfect, regenerating natural garden for the growing south Orange area.

 Hospital staff and doctors had also expressed concern about bottle-necks and traffic jams blocking access to the hospital during major sporting events at the site.

 Greens candidate for the upcoming local government election in December, David Mallard said at the last-stage protest, that Orange could have had its sports stadium plus the health precinct originally planned for area by Council.

 “There’s still time to get the plan right, there’s still discussions to be had. We could still have our health precinct, our green space, and our stadium, we could have all three,” he said.

 Malcom Stacey said that, while he wanted the trees saved, he “wouldn’t go as far” as chaining himself to a tree as Mayor, Reg Kidd claims to have done to save a landmark tree in Anson Street in the 1980s.

 “Why didn’t Council listen? We had nearly 5800 signatures of locals who wanted the trees saved, plus the majority of the submissions for this proposal.”

 Independent Council candidate, Lesley Smith — who remembers protesting against the sacking of the Whitlam Government in 1975 outside Parliament House — said that last-ditch protest shouldn’t have been necessary.

 “Compelling arguments to save the trees, rather than activism, should have been enough.”

 Nick King from local environmental group ECCO, said that protest to stop logging and the like has the benefit of “drawing attention to an issue, but to be effective, you need a large number of people,” he said.

 Informal leader of the 18-month protest movement that started with an online petition last year, south Orange local Julie Pont along with other protestors, fronted Cr Kidd at the news conference, and asked why a patch of Crown Land opposite the Bloomfield site on Forest Road targetted for future extension of the sport precinct, could not be the site of the current stadium proposal.

 “I’ll tell you this, the stadium will be going here!” Cr Kidd replied.

 The end for the variety of native and introduced species — some decades old and standing a stately 20 metres tall — was sealed by a 10-1 vote by Council despite an overwhelming response from nearly 160 public submissions to Council.

 Yet, from the moment that the State Government offered the $25 million as an election inducement in 2019, for the stadium, followed by Mayor, Councillor Reg Kidd turning-over a sod at the site, the fate of the trees appeared to be sealed.

 “We were always supportive of the stadium, proposal, but just not here on this amazing regenerating greenspace that could have been a beautiful legacy we could leave behind for future generations, these destroyed trees here, this will be this Council’s ultimate legacy,” Ms Pont said.