The City of Canning has quadrupled the penalty for damaging or removing a public tree.

The council voted unanimously last month to amend its local government property and public places local law 2021.

Amendments included increasing the penalty for damaging, destroying or removing a tree or street tree in a public place from $250 to $1000.

The law has also been extended to cover all trees on city property, not just street trees.

An officer’s report said there was a low amount of tree vandalism in the city. No one has been fined since the local law was first introduced in 2021.

Mayor Patrick Hall said he was “a bit surprised” at this as there had been reports of “mass destruction” of new plantings.

“We’ve had extensive tree damage, major vandalism events at Nurdi Park in Riverton, She

See Full Page