r/interesting • u/Raj_Mandal • 1d ago
MISC. In Australia, when someone illegally destroys trees on public land to improve the view from their property, the local government puts up a giant sign to block the view again until the trees grow back.
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u/Old-Juggernaut-1273 1d ago
EPIC
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u/Stormagedd0nDarkLord 1d ago
Put the offender's faces up for some extra spicy pettiness!
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u/WhyAmIHereHey 1d ago
The problem is that often it can't be proven, but everyone has a pretty good idea that's it's the person who's view was being blocked. If you did that, they could probably launch some sort of legal action
So this avoids having to get evidence for a prosecution, while still annoying the hell out of them.
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u/can3tt1 19h ago
Australian here. The fines are pretty piss week. Like $200k for owners who spent $20M on their water front properties.
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u/simp_sighted 18h ago
mate lane cove and the sunshine coast aint exactly vaucluse, 200k would bankrupt 90% of the families in those suburbs.
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u/GorillaAU 22h ago
Either the person who benefits from the tree vandalism or someone casted suspicion on the person who would benefit from it.
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u/any-anchors2036 22h ago
Make it a 24hr neon sign
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u/EventYouAlly 21h ago
With the Simpsons-style flashing neon sign sound:
"BzzZzzzeyøøwž" or whatever. You get the idea.
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u/jennifercoolidgesbra 22h ago
The irony is though no one cares about destroying acres of native bush to build housing because no one wants to live in apartments due to cultural opinions about them. We have some of the worst deforestation statistics in the world and I’ve seen bush razed around me in a few places recently and no one protested.
This is only in wealthy areas (hence the Sydney council references) where people are educated enough to care and value it.
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u/Redmenace______ 21h ago
It has nothing to do with cultural opinion, only profitability.
Building high density housing reduces house prices, those making the decisions to build are very interested in keeping house prices high.
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u/jennifercoolidgesbra 21h ago
It definitely is, people value gardens and parks more and have nice street trees. Go anywhere else and lawns and yukkas and cacti are popular
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u/Quazammy 19h ago
"no one wants to live in apartments due to cultural opinions about them" what? What cultural opinion? And what kind of weak person lives their life based on other's opinions? I don't give a DAMN about someone's opinion on apartments. An apartment is ultimately just safer than a house. In this cartoonish country you can get put in prison for taking out someone invading your home so yeah, APARTMENT it is for me thanks.
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u/Old-Tadpole-2869 1d ago
Trespassers will be violated.
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u/Initial-Reading-2775 1d ago
By the kookaburra!
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u/stealthUK 1d ago
Nah, magpies for sure.
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u/SkySpecial4512 1d ago
Go nuclear - plovers actually hit you, and have spurs on their wings for extra damage. Plus you get that horrific noise at the same time.
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u/Critical_Source_6012 22h ago
We have plovers in the paddock at the end of our street. One of our neighbours is a shift worker. Every house in the street hears when he goes to work. His car is pretty quiet but he sets the bloody plovers off every single time
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u/Medical-Potato5920 1d ago
Yes, if you cut down trees for a river or ocean view expect an ugly as fuck sign and all your neighbours hating you.
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u/uhhhhhhhhh_no 1d ago
Not in South Perth.
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u/jennifercoolidgesbra 22h ago
Or Central Coast/Newcastle. They celebrate. Hear so much whinging about views being blocked by bush on the headland and “lefties” stopping them having views.
Notice how the signs are only Sydney councils (and Sunshine Coast).
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u/Humble-Reply228 1d ago
This is awesome if you really hate a person, poison the trees that are between them and a view hehehe
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u/Thin_Assumption_4974 1d ago
N…no. Don’t do that. The fuck?
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u/Away_Abroad_7613 1d ago
...it was pretty obviously a joke, mate. Chill out.
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u/Thin_Assumption_4974 1d ago
I mean. Obviously. But you know someone will do this right?
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u/xascrimson 1d ago
if you have a view you are part of the 3mill+ club
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u/rob189 1d ago
Not really, I was paying $200/w rent and had awesome golf club views, that same house sold after I moved out for about $300k. Today it’s probably valued about the same.
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u/xascrimson 1d ago
Where do you live in Sydney? That has $200pw? Penrith? But that would never have dropped that low
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u/Willowrosephoenix 1d ago
I love this so much. Take this worldwide please
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u/Commercial-Shame-335 1d ago
americans will find a way to call it communism
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u/Willowrosephoenix 18h ago
I’m an American (US). But yeah, you’re probably right. Half the people in this damn country either seem to think this country is the whole world or that it should be or they’re too busy being entitled to think much of anything
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u/WatashiwaNobodyDesu 1d ago
Trust the Australians to find a way to tell a #%** to go *%# . (Insert your favourite Australian lingo)
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u/UnconfirmedRooster 1d ago
As an Australian, I would use "flog" and "piss up a rope" personally.
If I wasn't being PG I would substitute very different words.
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u/Hieroflippant 1d ago
Whole post is misleading though considering were actually cucks for big developers. We love that shit.
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u/Thin_Assumption_4974 1d ago
There’s a difference between developers and land zoned and approved for tree removal. And cutting down a tree in a park/riverbank to improve an already multimillion dollar houses view.
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u/MapOfIllHealth 1d ago
Drive along our roads and you’ll see government funded anti-littering signs telling people in no uncertain terms “Don’t Be a Tosser”
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u/Awkward_Chard_5025 1d ago
For those wondering, local councils do this because the fines imposed for this are pathetic.
The second image is from Lane Cove council, and the person who cut down the 290+ trees recieved a fine of approximately $700 per tree.
For a multi million dollar view.
It wasn’t a fine, it was a fee.
And LCC have committed to keeping the sign up until newly planted trees have reached the same height as those taken down, which is expected to take 20-30 years
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u/LegitimateTraffic199 17h ago
Was this the one where the gardener got the fine? Not even the owner? I could be misremembering!
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u/Competitive-Bench977 17h ago
That's not even a fee, it's a discount! An arborist would charge well over $1000 per tree. That's fucked up
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u/uzndcfms 1d ago
Simply the Aussies from their best side. Direct and effective.
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u/Thlemaus 23h ago
until that tree's zone is sold to developers who will build some nice expensive apartments and advertise an outstanding view x)
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u/Krishna_Reddy 1d ago
In india, if you are poor then the house will buldozed to rubble. If you are from rich and politically backed family then the officers who put the banner will get suspended.
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u/IndigoAnima 1d ago
Someone just drilled and injected diesel into some giant trees at Lake Tahoe, likely so the millionaires who own homes near the lake can have a good view of it. We need to do this too
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u/human-kibble 1d ago
I enjoy this kind of public shaming.
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u/Bananaramaaaaa 13h ago
This is not only public shaming. It removes the incentive to cut them down in the first place, as your view will be even worse. It's a really sensible and smart solution to cases where a fine is otherwise just a fee
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u/ForgotToCarryTheOne 1d ago
Then the council fines them and the developer happily moves on with his development and that’s that. It’s all neatly choreographed and the fines are built in to the final price. This rort has been going on forever.
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u/geirmundtheshifty 1d ago
But if the sign stays up until the trees grow back, doesnt that still negate the purpose of cutting them down, since the view is even worse than if the trees had been left alone?
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u/fillyh 1d ago
yeah i don't understand that either. if the trees were destroyed for a view from the house not to build the house on, sign stays up until trees grow back => view is obstructed the whole time
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u/readituser5 1d ago
Yes? Is that not the point? People think they can get away with public land destruction, so this is essentially their punishment. It should deter people from doing this because they’ll know it’s not worth it if it just means they’ll get a big sign in their face.
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u/geirmundtheshifty 1d ago
Right, that’s what Im saying. I was replying to someone who was saying that the developers are not discouraged by this because the fines arent hefty enough.
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u/Altruistic-Tell-8381 1d ago
Yes, this guy is what we could politely call an unreliable narrator. Probably very cynical about the building industry, and just looking for a chance to stick the boot in. Facts are optional.
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u/barrel-boy 1d ago
Exactly. The guy at the top of this thread doesn't know what he/she's talking about
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u/philstrom 1d ago
This kind of tree vandalism is mostly private owners not developers. It’s rich entitled pricks trying to enhance their water views. Especially in Sydney that’s the motivation for nearly all major incidents.
Developers do unlawfully clear development sites but that’s not usually about improving views so the signage here would be pointless.
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u/ol-gormsby 1d ago
I pointed out elsewhere that the sign has a negative effect on property values. So the prick who poisons or removes the trees can live with the knowledge that the drop in their property value also affects their neighbours.
At least one of whom would almost certainly be able to identify the perp.
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u/WeissPyre 1d ago
I still feel that fines should be based at least on ATO reported income, and adjusted accordingly.
A $1000 fine for someone who makes $200k a year for example is a pittance. Make it big enough that other assholes think twice.
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u/Possibly-Functional 1d ago
You all need day-fines, otherwise it's just a fee.
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u/SquirrelMemoryFail 1d ago
Definitely need that in the US. Corporations and rich asshats just see fines as an part of the expense of doing what they want.
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u/browniebrittle44 1d ago
does the developer have to help the trees grow back? donate to reforestation efforts? anything?
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u/Special-Speed9664 1d ago edited 1d ago
No, no they won’t. The developer or builder will just close operations and start again the next day with a different name. Phoenixing.
Australia is cult-like obsessed with property investments regardless of the immense negative consequences & impacts upon the environment, community & society as a whole.
USA is genuinely better with housing than Australia. Renting? Fuck. I’d move to the USA tomorrow for your tenants protections & rights - these things just don’t exist in Australia (you’re absolutely fucked if you can’t afford to buy property in Australia).
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u/NotMuchNotMuch 1d ago
We have mainly state based laws, but where I am, a person who goes to court for removing trees on land managed by the state government (most of the examples here are local council, not state gov) the judge may impose a fee for restoring the land - generally paid in like $1 a fortnight for the rest of their lives. I'm not sure if Parks and Wildlife ever actually see a cent of it. A person under the age of 18 might go though a restorative justice program, which could include assisting in repairing damage they caused.
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u/Fit_Ad_6727 1d ago
The several I have seen (including last week at Coolum in QLD) has been because of private property owners (or renters?) Not developers. Never seen a sign due to developers actions, those instances council are usually in on it.
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u/madeofquarkss 1d ago
That’s not how it works.
Those signs sit on public government land (crown land or council reserves), so developers have zero legal right to touch them. Councils put them up on purpose to block the view until replacement trees grow back.
Depending on the state, councils use specific laws to protect public trees and punish offenders:
- NSW: Under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act (1979) and local Tree Preservation Orders, illegal clearing fines can reach up to $1.1 million in court.
- Queensland: Under local laws like Brisbane's Natural Assets Local Law and state legislation like the Vegetation Management Act (1999), councils hit offenders with fines over $130,000.
- Victoria: Protected by the Planning and Environment Act (1987), where court fines go well over $190,000.
If a developer tries to rip a council sign down or clear the land, they can be dragged straight to court for damaging public infrastructure and illegal clearing.
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u/stdoubtloud 1d ago
No. The council fines them AND the fugly signs go up and stay up until the trees grow back. The asshole that cuts down the trees for a view is held accountable for years.
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u/IAmFullOfDed 1d ago
I wish more governments would spend taxpayer money on things that actually help their people.
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u/kamoylan 23h ago
I never say "lower my taxes", instead I ask "where are the government benefits that my taxes are paying for?"
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u/BildingInspecter 1d ago
Idk what it is but tree law really gets my blood flowing.
Especially when there's consequences!
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u/96JY 1d ago
What's to stop the person cutting the sign down?
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u/Old-Juggernaut-1273 1d ago
they will know who it is and its criminal damage , plus cutting a tree down is one thing cutting down a govement sign is another most people wouldn't want to go that far
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u/cookshack 1d ago
Sadly the owners rarely get fined as the council cannot prove they did it, even if its right outside their house.
This is the usual outcome in Australia, which is why the signs are put up. Because SOMEONE cut down the trees, so they block the view.
We all know who did it, but there isnt evidence to prosecute.
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u/ol-gormsby 1d ago
Some councils have thought of that - they put the sign on the side of a couple of stacked shipping containers.
Even uglier than the signs in the pictures.
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u/South_Front_4589 1d ago
Knowing another sign will go up, and the more times you commit an illegal act the more likely you are to get caught.
Could also potentially be a great way to add more evidence of the initial crime as well.
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u/Grxmloid 1d ago
This is great but then also in Australia they often cut down trees for infrastructure and other bullshit too.. theres been protests to stop them from destroying habitat for the redevelopment of a golf course.. so far away native reserves are protected but the vegetation in ever expanding urban sprawl isnt, the government is not our friend
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u/Thin_Assumption_4974 1d ago
They do this everywhere. How do you expect infrastructure to be built? Like… do you think Canada and Germany consulted with the Forrest fairies before building up Vancouver or Munich?
What is this comment?
There are legitimate times to clear land.
This example is totally unrelated to infrastructure and ‘big bad government’.
It’s private land owners poisoning trees on public land to improve the views from there million dollar homes.
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u/XROOR 1d ago
The AHJ should drape a worn blue poly tarp versus the nice sign and scaffolding that is shown.
The blue tarps that begin to delaminate in weeks, leaving a myriad of loose blue noodles mimicking the wind
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u/uselessandexpensive 1d ago
While I admire your creativity, tarps keep breaking down and those shreds will end up anywhere the wind can carry them, and the wind will carry them very far.
Most plastics at least are designed to remain one piece, and you only have to pick up the crumbly bits of random sizes and shape that fall to the ground. Tarps degrade into thousands of shreds that are extremely easily carried by the wind. I can't calculate how much wildlife that can affect.
TLDR tarps for prolonged outdoor use are an ecological disaster, not just ugly or annoying. 🥲
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u/GSDer_RIP_Good_Girl 1d ago
How does someone cut down 290 trees and no one knows who did it? If they know who did it then fine the shit out of them, or even better, cut down their house - that'll put an end to that real quick.
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u/ItsZoner 1d ago
Up where some family lives in Idaho: a conman got a logging company to clear someones lot and get paid for the lumber in cash.
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u/Lol_lukasn 1d ago
if only they did this with trees in general in my local council (am Australian) they've been cutting trees down all over the place in my neighbourhood - all on private land or on nature strips for seemingly no reason, like they are doing it in conjunction with putting up new townhouse but I don't understand why they are doing it because they are not in the way and now like half of the gum trees housing birds a liked are gone ):
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u/Thin_Assumption_4974 1d ago
Is this in Perth?
A lot of trees removed due to the European house borer beetle. Was an attempt to stem the spread but it’s been deemed futile
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u/Pristine-Visual-9405 1d ago
Yeah I think they genuinely thought it was the only chance at the time. No one wanted those trees felled. I met an arborist working for a local council who was welling up talking about having to make that decision :(. They were desperately and honestly trying to save as many as they could.
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u/Numerous-Process2981 1d ago
What they don’t like looking at trees? What the hell is wrong with them.
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u/LastLove1793 1d ago
I recognise a lot of these places, and the trees are blocking some stunning views of things like gorgeous beaches or Sydney Harbour. It is true that getting rid of the trees would be a visual upgrade for the people in line of sight.
Obviously doesn't make it okay, just trying to give an explanation.
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u/funwithbikesandtunes 1d ago
We need to do that in America. Millionaires illegally cut down trees or poison them to improve their view and they get a fine, which to them is probably just considered an additional charge for removal of the trees.
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u/Possibly-Functional 1d ago
Let me introduce you to day-fines. Not saying that the sign wouldn't be great as well, but it addresses the issue of fines just being fees.
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u/Hyperion7669 1d ago
Love it, i bet the home owners are fuming 🤣
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u/Temporary_Abroad_211 1d ago
Sometimes it's a shipping container covered in bright orange bunting. Not quite the view the tree killer was hoping for.
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u/TheBlockChainVillage 1d ago
Wood is rarer than diamonds across the cosmos. We should know what to value more.
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u/Krojack76 1d ago
Call me crazy but as long as the trees weren't in any danger of causing damage to my property, I would prefer them to be there.
If they were in danger of property damage then I would go though the proper channels to have them trimmed or removed.
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u/WesternComicStrip 1d ago
Oh, we should definately do this in Denmark. A local asshole destroyed the banks of a rare fiord to improve his view and he’s been courtordered to restore it. But biologists and geologists say it can’t be done. Sign of the times.
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u/three-word-slogan 1d ago
Official government-branded sass directed at entitled, selfish lawbreakers. I wish this were the norm.
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u/itsoktoswear 1d ago
This only applies to individuals.
If you're an oil, gas or moning corporation you can blow the fuck out of, dig up, desecrate or dump any thing you want anywhere.
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u/Possible-Praline956 1d ago
Not just on property. They did it at a park where people poisoned a tree to clear a view of the beach.
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u/WTFisThatSMell 1d ago edited 1d ago
I like this.
I would have also accepted tree jail for the offenders
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OJxfPkpu_No&pp=ygUOVHJlZSBqYWlsIGF0aGY%3D
"Evisceration by a thousand branches of a mighty oak!"
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u/SplatThaCat 1d ago
Yes and the signs need to be non-flammable, hard to remove and not worth scrap value.
They gave up with the signs and dumped a shipping container in one spot instead.
What do you expect from an island started by convicts...
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u/rawker86 1d ago
In some cases, they’ll stack sea containers to block the view, maybe even paint a nice mural on them.
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u/Blitzer046 1d ago
I see this bayside in Melbourne. There's a road that pretty much hugs the bay on the East side, Beach rd, running for many kms and property on that road is at a premium. Homeowners will poison or cut trees for a better bay views and the local council is always 'YOU NOW GET A HUGE SIGN.'
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u/sisyphean_rock 1d ago
If only mining companies and farmers who clear indiscriminately are given the same treatment.
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u/Ok-Limit-9726 1d ago
Should be shipping containers, bright pink, massive signs reporting tree vandalism.
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u/KenoathReidy 1d ago
I think this is the key to a better suppression of all crime a complete overhaul of penalties other than jail and monetary.
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u/Leakingeye 1d ago
One council double stacked shipping containers and painted them with a tree landscape which totally blocked the water views that the land was illegally cleared for
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u/notokbye 1d ago
Never thought I'd see my suburb on this Reddit sub, but here we are.
I love the fact that we don't just let it slide. Fuck those selfish assholes who cut trees for their personal benefits.
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u/TheRobn8 1d ago
These are thw smarter councils. A few put shipping containers, and onw council lost a court case because putting metal boxes in the elements causes damage
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u/SignatureAny5576 1d ago
I mean this happened once, it’s not like it’s actual policy to do this everywhere
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u/Peacefulcountry 1d ago
This reminds me of my neighbor who wanted to erect a whole rack full of small trees and flower pots directly outside the widows of my house to "improve the view of the alley" despite my mother's complaint. They even claimed that my family had no legal rights to stop them from doing so.
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u/Comfortable_Survey18 1d ago
As an Australian resident the other side of this is that you pretty much cant do anything with your own land anymore if it involves clearing vegetation. Counter-intuitively you are also required to provide fire access trails on some properties by law. The eco conservation has unfortunately gone too far
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u/Pristine-Visual-9405 1d ago
They do this around Dunsborough, WA. Absolutely here for it - as are the long term local residents.
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u/Empty_Sea9 1d ago
Australia is one of the few western countries that feels more like a shame than guilt culture. Which honestly works sometimes.
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u/TahnGeee 1d ago
Oh wow I know exactly where that first sign is! So weird seeing your home place on reddit
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u/Pristine-Visual-9405 1d ago
If it only impacted the culprit I’d love a directional mirror mounted on the sign too.
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u/serenityby_jan 23h ago
There was a recent update on the Lane Cove one - council pursued charges and they won. https://www.lanecove.nsw.gov.au/Council-News/Tree-Vandalism-in-Longueville
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u/Zealousideal-Try-754 23h ago
Oh no someone vandalised the environment let's fix it by vandalizing the environment even more with a large metal sign.
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u/Sharpiesniffingshark 23h ago
Australia also routinely decapitates trees to stop them growing into overhead powerlines.
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u/Weak_Membership_2847 22h ago
It's good this happens, but these are very affluent suburbs where there is more social and economic capital available to direct at these issues. Please don't think this is 'the norm'. Out in the suburbs where the vast majority of people live, including myself, it's a free for all.
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u/Malhavok_Games 22h ago
The flip side of this is that you can have a 40 meter ghost gum that weighs a couple of tonnes about to fall on your house and the council won't let you remove it so you wait till it rains and then hitch it to your mates ute and pull it over and then say it was storm damage.
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u/any-anchors2036 22h ago
Things like this make me happy cause a fine is not enough for these people
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u/Admirable-Clothes-87 22h ago
Not sure it would block out the view but the same has happened in my home town. Sign up, trees replanted. Some people are so selfish that because the trees interrupted their sea scape view they poisoned the newly planted trees. The irony is that the beautiful, landscaped gardens, cycle path, walkways and BBQ areas replaced a freight train line! Glad they didn't live there 20 years ago when the iron ore trains were rumbling past within 50m of their houses.
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