A NEWCASTLE councillor called last night for the city council to be sacked and an administrator appointed after lord mayor John Tate used his casting vote, again, to win another stay of execution for the Laman Street fig trees.
The council had been preparing to bring in the chainsaws and remove the trees as early as this morning, but will instead bring in an independent expert to assess the risk.
Activists cheered at the end of last night’s meeting, the 11th time councillors have voted during the $750,000 fig fiasco.
Others reacted solemnly to the result.
For pictures from last night's meeting, click on the image above.
Cr Brad Luke immediately called on the council to be sacked, and an administrator appointed.
‘‘There needs to be an investigation into the dysfunctionality of the council,’’ Cr Luke said.
The numbers in the council chamber were thrown into disarray last night because Cr Mike Jackson, who had publicly stated that he would vote to effectively remove the trees, was unable to attend.
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Cr Jackson’s absence left six councillors in favour of removing the trees and five who supported a third-party determination of the risk assessments.
Cr Shayne Connell was the unknown.
Cr Connell had on Monday expressed concerns about discrepancies in a council report into the root structures of the trees, and sought a meeting with council staff to explain those discrepancies.
After considerable thought, he agreed to the independent risk assessment.
Cr Connell said if the council’s own risk studies were sound, they would stand up to the independent assessment.
Roused by former Greens councillor John Sutton on the steps of City Hall, about 100 residents entered the council chambers singing a slightly off-key chorus of ‘‘All we are saying, is give trees a chance’’.
For a gallery of pictures charting the figs saga, click on the image above.
Cr Tate urged councillors to ‘‘bring some harmony and peace into the community’’.
Cr Mike King criticised Cr Tate, who lodged the motion at 8pm on August 28, the night before removal work was due to begin.
Cr King said the motion should not be before the council.
‘‘It is an abuse of process and a deliberate attempt to delay implementation of the council’s resolution,’’ he said.
Cr King conceded there had been conflicting evidence about the trees, but said the council had the right to determine the matter.
‘‘[The council is] elected, representative and accountable to the voters,’’ he said. ‘‘We should not be making decisions based on what might get us elected next year. We make decisions based on evidence, whether it’s popular or not.’’
At the beginning of the debate, councillors voted to make public the contents of a confidential council memo that questioned the validity of the motion lodged by Cr Tate.
The legal advice, provided by a Senior Counsel, said any motion that in effect rescinded the council’s decision to remove the trees could be deemed invalid.
An expensive court challenge would be required to overturn the decision and is unlikely.
The figs saga has become increasingly bitter in the past few months, with allegations of threats and abuse against council staff, contractors and community activists.
Cr Aaron Buman said the Save Our Figs group had used ‘‘grubby tactics’’ by releasing a statement claiming he had a conflict of interest because he owned a nearby property where a fig tree was slated for removal.
‘‘That suggestion is utterly stupid,’’ Cr Buman said.
Cr Sharon Claydon tabled an additional 1248 signatures to a petition to save the trees.
She said the petition, which now contained more than 11,700 signatures, was the largest ever submitted in NSW.
Save Our Figs spokeswoman Caity Raschke said after the meeting she was delighted with the decision.
The $40,000 independent assessment will be jointly funded by the council and Save Our Figs.
Council general manager Phil Pearce said the council’s insurer, Statewide Mutual, would extend insurance coverage but expected a result by the end of October.
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