By Casey Neill
A Yarra Ranges Councillor is calling for reforms to protect residents from legal action after her own day in court.
Fiona McAllister faced Ringwood Magistrates’ Court on Thursday 23 August, and was fined $2000 and ordered to pay the council’s costs of $3000.
The magistrate declined to record a conviction.
“I’m very glad it’s resolved but it’s been horrific and I hope we can change things so no one else has to go through what I went through,” Cr McAllister said.
The council’s social and economic development director Ali Wastie said the court action followed complaints from neighbours about Cr McAllister removing protected vegetation and placing two shipping containers on her three acre Healesville property without planning permits.
“Council wanted a conviction against me which could have cost me my registration as a psychologist,” Cr McAllister said.
She said the council should only push for a conviction in certain circumstances, and felt it was inappropriate in her case.
“I was devastated by that. I was astounded and devastated,” she said.
Cr McAllister said the council charged her with 10 offences, but withdrew six.
“They were forced to withdraw the charges partly on my representation, partly under pressure from the magistrate,” Cr McAllister said.
“The council…wanted me to be fined between $25,000 and $35,000, and also to pay $17,000 for a vegetation offset.”
She said the council needed “to be really clear to people about what the options are for them”.
“The issue I had wasn’t the fine. It was what they were requiring in terms of offsets,” she said.
“It emerged only in the past couple of months that I could have paid the fine and dealt with the offset question separately at VCAT.
“People should be advised of things like that upfront.
“I get calls regularly from people who are so distressed because they’re caught in a process that they don’t understand.
“They’re being treated like criminals and they really don’t know what to do.”
Cr McAllister also wants the council’s tree removal laws to change “to reflect community expectations and common sense”.
“My husband’s subcontractor accidentally removed two small trees…while removing a number of dead trees,” she said.
She said the trees were each about 5 metres high and 150 millimetres in diameter.
She said the council claimed five trees were removed but couldn’t produce any credible evidence to that effect, and that removing dead trees did not require a planning permit.
Ms Wastie said it was important to note that the action related to Cr McAllister as a private citizen and land owner, not as an elected council representative of council.
“The laws contained within the Planning and Environment Act apply to all residents and land owners equally,” she said.
“The process undertaken with Ms McAllister is consistent with the process undertaken with all other residents and land owners who carry out this type of work without a permit.”
