Dudley Park resident’s Tuart tree root of all evil

Ms McGinnis decided to buy a property on Encourage Loop, Dudley Park, and put roots down in Mandurah five weeks ago.

She bought the property thinking it wouldn’t be too much of a problem to get the unsafe-looking tree removed, but as it turned out on Tuesday night the Tuart is there to stay.

Ms McGinnis is mostly concerned about roots lifting up her driveway and branches falling on her property.

She said there’s already several neighbours who won’t walk in their driveway fearing to trip over a nut and getting injured.

“That thing is encroaching in my driveway,” she said.

“I’m going to bang into that, I can’t have anybody park in there, and the roots are shocking.”

Ms McGinnis said ever since she moved into the property five weeks ago nine new cracks have appeared in her kerb as a result of the tree roots.

“And that’s just in a few weeks,” she said.

“The roots are going to do some chronic damage but they don’t care because they don’t have to live here.

“I’m going to have to keep chopping those roots back at my own cost and yet it’s a council tree.”

Ms McGinnis said she engaged a private tree removalist several weeks ago to assess the tree who said it was a safety issue and should be removed.

“50 to 60 per cent of that tree has been chopped away which in my mind it is compromising the integrity of the tree,” she said.

“I teach tai chi for God’s sake, I know the importance of balance.

“If it falls on a person that person will be dead, and if it falls on somebody’s roof it’ll go right through.”

Ms McGinnis said she now lives in fear, waiting for the tree to fall down on her bedroom.

“ I don’t mind somebody tall with a fluffy top in my bed but I don’t want it to be Tuart tree,” she said.

“It’s very scary.”

However, the City of Mandurah considered the tree to be both healthy and safe to stay.

“It remains in excellent health at this time,” a report by the City of Mandurah read.

“Importantly there is no evidence of any history of branch failures having occurred in the tree to date.”

City councillors voted in favour of retaining the tree, except deputy mayor Darren Lee, who expressed his support for Ms McGinnis.

“In my 12 years in council I have not supported removal of trees,” Mr Lee said.

“But common sense needs to prevail.”

Following the council’s decision to keep the tree Ms McGinnis said she doesn’t know what to do next.

“I do the right thing and I get nowhere,” she said.