Thursday, Mar 21, 2013 at 16:57
RA,
You're confusing significant tree legislation with native vegetation protection legislation. They are chalk & cheese mate.
The significant tree legislation differs massively from one state to another & is pretty much confined to cities & towns. It generally does not take into account if the tree is native, or even a locally naturally occurring plant. The object of this legislation is to curtail developers from stripping suburbia of large trees & it usually does not apply to rural land.
Here in SA significant trees are protected by the Development regulations:
http://www.legislation.sa.gov.au/LZ/C/R/DEVELOPMENT%20REGULATIONS%202008/CURRENT/2008.233.UN.PD
Go to para 6a.
Here, they base the definition of whether a tree is significant, or regulated (2 different things) by its location, species & its circumference around 1 metre off natural ground level. If its within 10 metres of a house or in ground pool, only Eucalypt's & Willow Myrtles are protected. You may remove dead wood. The other states are more strict than SA in most aspects of significant tree legislation.
Native vegetation legislation is totally different & is usually applicable in rural or semi rural areas. It is put in place to stop the destruction of tree & shrub species native to any given area & to protect the environment including things such as soil erosion. It applies to both live vegetation & DEAD TREES, which are often habitat for native birds/mammals/reptiles etc. Here in SA it's covered by the Native Vegetation Regulations, the other states have similar laws.
This is my bread & butter, I deal with it daily ;)
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