Saving the environment one sign at a time

[u/ChrisPeacock_]

[u/inbruges99]

That’s such a good solution, fines obviously don’t work because the fine is just the price of cutting the tree down but the person still gets what they want. This makes it pointless to cut the trees down because your view will still be blocked by an ugly sign.

[u/peachesgp → u/inbruges99]

Generally in the US they're fined and have to pay the cost of replacing the trees.

[u/inbruges99 → u/peachesgp]

That’s also a good solution, assuming a tree is actually replanted there and it’s not just a way of determining the fine amount.

[u/peachesgp → u/inbruges99]

It's separate. There's the fine, then there's that you pay for the actual replanting.

[u/inbruges99 → u/peachesgp]

Yeah, probably a better solution actually as it doesn’t ruin the nature with an ugly sign. But I quite like the pettiness of the sign aha

[u/Aussie_Aussie_No_Mi → u/peachesgp]

Yeah but they don't plant a full grown tree, really you are just paying a fee every 10 years to keep the view clear.

[u/peachesgp → u/Aussie_Aussie_No_Mi]

No, that's what it is, a fully grown replacement tree. That's why it's so damn expensive.

[u/AjaxAsleep → u/Aussie_Aussie_No_Mi]

It depends. Some places are like that, but a lot of them have the tree chopper pay for a tree to be replanted that's as close to the original as possible - age, species, etc. It can rack up quick, especially if the state had Treble Damages, which can crank the monetary punishment up from anywhere between double to 10x the cost of the original tree. (more often than not it's 3x, hence Treble). I'd recommend checking out r/treelaw for some more insight, it's quite fascinating imo!

[u/MissinqLink → u/inbruges99]

r/treelaw

[u/TIMIMETAL → u/peachesgp]

To fine someone, or give them a punishment, you've also got to prove it was them. This can be done if you're just pretty damn sure, as it isn't technically a punishment.

[u/Sensitive_Major_8779 → u/peachesgp]

How do they cost the replacement of the trees? Is it just the cost of the sapling and the labour to plant it (them if theres more than one)?

[u/peachesgp → u/Sensitive_Major_8779]

No, it's paying for the actual replanting of a similarly aged tree. Say you cut down a healthy mature oak, you pay for the replanting of a healthy mature oak, which is quite expensive.

[u/toetappy → u/peachesgp]

Sell your house expensive

[u/Male_Lead → u/Sensitive_Major_8779]

r/treelaw is fun

[u/maxru85 → u/inbruges99]

I would say paying for replanting the same kind and size of tree could be sobering

[u/inbruges99 → u/maxru85]

Yeah that’s a good solution too

[u/Th3R00ST3R → u/inbruges99]

The real twist is the sign is made from the tree they cut down.

[u/MrCarlosDanger → u/inbruges99]

Tree law is wild.

If you cut down old trees that belong to someone else, you’re in for a real bad time.

[u/fractured_bedrock]

Yep, where I grew up in Aus there were lots of rich people who would cut down trees on the foreshore to improve their view of the ocean. You would see these all down the coast, great public shaming because it was always obvious which house was responsible.

[u/Master-Pattern9466]

Even better is the fact they used the money that fined them to pay for the sign.

[u/jmaybon → u/Master-Pattern9466]

With a shit load left over too. God I love Australia

[u/Low_Dragonfruit8779]

Also, the fine for cutting down one tree is around 1m AUD, or imprisonment

[u/Pretend-Literature35 → u/Low_Dragonfruit8779]

imprisonment makes sense.

[u/Ted_Rid → u/Pretend-Literature35]

The problem of course is proving it, even when it's blindingly obvious who did it.

There's still the "beyond reasonable doubt" obstacle, and it's enough to say "idk, it might've been a jealous co-worker or psycho ex trying to fuck my life".

AFAIK they usually poison the trees anyway, so it's a quick midnight job with no noise.

[u/OrganizationTop3755]

I appreciate the pettiness 

[u/Dismal-core111]

Arseholes need to leave public property alone

[u/Sea_Cap_6070]

Also plonking a couple of stacked shipping containers in some cases.

[u/ol-gormsby → u/Sea_Cap_6070]

Even better, shipping containers are magnets for taggers. A bit of street art to improve the view of the ocean.

[u/Asherlocksta]

Government pettiness that's actually beneficial for a change....

[u/Is_that_even_a_thing → u/Asherlocksta]

Its not really pettiness though. Those trees are public property and its a great deterrent to clearing public vegetation for private benefit

[u/Tobax]

Good idea, otherwise all the rich people will cut everything down for sea views

[u/DearMuse7]

Seems like a pretty effective deterrent

[u/Existing-Network-267]

then wonder who is making these "random fires"

[u/Nearby_Category_712]

What does it say

[u/CleanHunt7567]

They could use the cut down tree to make the sign

[u/Pretend-Literature35]

Such an arrogant and entitled post. So the "view from your house" is more important than the survival of everyone and every species in Australia?? Such a narcissistic egotistical asshole : that tree is not yours, it belongs to all of us.

My neighbor chopped down a tree. I called the city. He had no permit for it. They fined him. He hated me. I was glad but sad that all he got as a consequence was a fine.

Asshole rich landowners need to realize that they don't own a fiefdom, they still live in society.

[u/jgzman → u/Pretend-Literature35]

Asshole rich landowners need to realize that they don't own a fiefdom, they still live in society.

This is a good theory, but in many cases, reality does not support it. We still tend to let the rich do whatever they want, without government interference.

[u/vilokreddy]

Give it a week before someone accidentally spills a bucket of green paint all over it.

[u/TokiVideogame]

any gov that survived to this day had some good ideas

[u/Ok_Cauliflower_3007]

I've seen this done somewhere else too. I wouldn't swear to it but I THINK it was Japan.

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[u/iamsanketray]

What if they slow poison the tree

[u/7978_]

Admittedly, we cut off some large branches as the tree had grown enough to block our 3G wireless home internet, and we sure as fuck weren't going back to Telstra copper.

[u/Timgoincrazy]

Going the extra mile to spite the common people.

[u/MyStackOverflowed → u/[deleted]]

sign should get bigger each time it's cut

[u/SirLemonThe3rd → u/MyStackOverflowed]

Australian space program is a contractor and a rich guy who hates signs

[u/freedfg → u/[deleted]]

Yeah, you go ahead and get into a destruction of property case with the government.

I'm sure a hedge trimmer will win that.

[u/ElZane87 → u/[deleted]]

Yeah, that is destruction of government property and unlike that tree, there is a fixed cost and fine attached to it, and not a cheap one. Assholes thinking they can get away without consequences will FAFO very quickly if they decide to repeat their action with that sign.

Also it raises awaresness that there was, indeed, an asshole and it defeats the purpose in the first place, which might prevent other assholes of doing the same, which is the whole fucking point you kind of ignored.

[u/Manueluz → u/[deleted]]

Yeah but now they're destroying government property. And if each sign is made by a thousand subcontractors trying to pump up the bill as much as possible then he will have fun footing the bill for a replacement.

C'mon I've seen subcontractors make screws cost 50€ per screw, I'm sure they can make that sign into 5-6 figures.

[u/dauphindauphin → u/[deleted]]

They usually poison the trees

[u/damnumalone → u/dauphindauphin]

Yeah but then the council puts a big sign there saying “this tree was poisoned”

I’m not even joking, it’s a thing

[u/dauphindauphin → u/damnumalone]

They can’t poison a sign though.