Page 964 - Week 03 - Thursday, 28 February 2013
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turned off and there were no severe winds in that part of Kingston on the day in question. Minister, what did happen to this tree, and why is the LDA telling a different story than the one from the residents who witnessed the events?
MR RATTENBURY: I do not have responsibility for the LDA. I am not aware of any comments, other than what I have seen in the media, that the head of the LDA made. So I do not think I can vouch for his comments or otherwise.
MADAM SPEAKER: A supplementary question, Mr Doszpot.
MR DOSZPOT: Minister, representations were made to you and certain answers were given by you to those representations regarding this tree. Why should residents in that area believe your assurances that the remaining trees will not suffer the same fate, as they have been given a story that does not match what they saw?
MR RATTENBURY: Certainly when we spoke about this a couple of weeks ago in question time, Mr Doszpot, I gave you the information that I have been provided. The tree experts from TAMS went out there and had a look at the trees. If I recall correctly, I indicated to you at the time that a listing was taking place of the remaining trees. I will undertake to seek some further information on the issue around the sprinklers. Clearly there is a level of vagary here around the impact of weather and if a storm comes through I cannot guarantee that the tree will not be damaged. I will certainly undertake to ensure that the issue around the sprinkler has been resolved.
MADAM SPEAKER: A supplementary question, Mrs Jones.
MRS JONES: Minister, what other trees in the ACT are under the supervision of the Land Development Agency rather than TAMS and are any of them under threat?
MR RATTENBURY: The honest answer is that I have no idea. There are around 700,000 trees under government management in the ACT. I actually do not know which ones are the responsibility of the LDA and which ones are the responsibility of TAMS. TAMS manages the bulk of the 700,000. As we were talking about in an earlier question, there is a dedicated team in TAMS that has both a proactive maintenance program for the trees around the territory and also does reactive work when residents raise specific issues, concerns or queries about specific trees. I do not know that the LDA has responsibility for very many of them at all.
MADAM SPEAKER: A supplementary question, Mrs Jones.
MRS JONES: For the team, minister, can you come back to us about which trees the LDA has responsibility for?
MR RATTENBURY: As I mentioned earlier, the LDA sits within the responsibility of the Treasurer, Mr Barr, but I will coordinate with him to find that information for you.
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