Lakelands resident Peter Reynolds has put special effort into his garden to ensure it provides a good habitat for native bandicoots, or ‘quenda’, planting low-growing natives that provide shelter for the marsupials from their predators, like cats or birds of prey.
It’s no surprise then that he was disappointed to find the verge across the road from his house being cleared, along Arramall Trail and Warburton Trail, on the side of the railway line.
“They’ve got a huge sign up, ‘Live in harmony with the quenda,’ but then it’s been absolutely cleared of everything,” Mr Reynolds said.
He said the contractors, working for the Public Transport Authority (PTA), were removing only the under-storey and leaving the larger trees behind, but that the quenda needed the lower bushes to move around safely.
“When I went to the city council they wanted to say that it’s all necessary stuff, but I said why put these quenda notices up everywhere if you’re going to get rid of their habitat?” Mr Reynolds said.
He said he could understand why the council might want the acacias removed – the PTA said the ‘pruning’ was for safety, maintenance and bushfire management reasons – but that they needed to plant something else to provide coverage for the quenda.
“Peet even organised plantings with the community and the schools down there a while ago, and now they’re clearing it all out,” he said.
The PTA said the City of Mandurah requested the work, although the city denied that.
“We met with them on site late last year to discuss the plans,” a PTA spokesman said.
“Safety is the PTA’s number one priority and we take our responsibility to bushfire mitigation seriously.”
A city spokesperson said the city did not order the works, but that the PTA had initiated them to keep scrub away from power lines.
Mr Reynolds said he wished either the city or the PTA had consulted with residents about the plans before going ahead.
“I don’t know why [they] have gone ahead and organised these things without any of the locals knowing anything about it,” he said.
