Council Sues Man for Tree Vandalism

0:00It's April 6. You're listening to Sydney News today, AI-powered local news. A Sydney Council is taking a man to court for straight up vandalizing trees in a historic park, dropping a strong message against this kind of destruction. Inner West Council accuses Norman Suckar of killing five magenta lily-pillies and one tuckeru at Almond Park in Ashfield on December 28, 2024. They say he drilled holes into the trunks and was snapped with a petrol can. Now they're pushing for the max penalty of $1 million in the land and environment court. This is the first time in ages the Council's nailed someone for wrecking public trees after more than a year of digging for proof. Tree clearing without permits breaks state environmental rules, but prosecutions are tough because you need iron clad evidence. Vandals often chase better views or bigger property bucks, hitting heritage spots hard. Vandals were fired up, building a tree graveyard memorial right there, and calling

1:00the guy the Almond Park serial killer. Past attacks hit the same park, like a big gum tree named Bluey. Deputy Mayor Chloe Smith slammed it as reckless, intentional, and selfish harm to the environment. It's part of a bigger wave last year alone. Over 260 trees got hacked or poisoned in Castle Cove, and up to 300 raised in lane. Cove also struggled to ID culprits, but the state government stepped up in April 2023 with tougher fines, up to $6,000 per. Tree for folks, 18,000 for companies, scaling with tree size and repeats. The case heads back to court in May, showing councils are done playing nice with green space saboteurs, protecting our urban forest just got real.