NEWCASTLE lord mayor John Tate has pleaded with council general manager Phil Pearce not to send the chainsaws into Laman Street after Premier Barry O'Farrell said the figs were a matter for the council.
Have you voted in our poll? We ask our online readers: Should the state government intervene in the Laman Street figs dispute? Vote yes or no through the link at right.
A spokeswoman for Newcastle City Council said late yesterday that the council was not going to publicise a timetable for any work on Laman Street "for operational reasons".
See the legal advice council received by clicking here.
Mr Pearce had given Cr Tate an assurance that nothing would happen in Laman Street yesterday, but with a double barricade of fencing and heavy duty electrical outlets installed at a command post inside the secure zone, Cr Tate said he feared the saws could start again at any time.
A week has passed since an at-times heated protest last Friday, and Cr Tate said he would be again prepared to put himself in the thick of things should the work teams return.
Scenes from Laman Street on Friday, October 7, 2011.
"I feel angry and annoyed because this city, which I care very much about, has been put in this position where the community has been put upon. As far as this being done in the name of dangerous trees I think, what a lot of tripe," he said.
With Mr O'Farrell in Newcastle on Thursday night to see rock band Cold Chisel, hopes had been held he would somehow intervene in the fig dispute.
Newcastle MP Tim Owen said he had been working with Cr Tate and others on a solution, saying he had "taken it to the state government and into the hands of people who can make legislative decisions".
Cr Tate and others had been pushing Mr Owen and Heritage Minister Robyn Parker to have the government intervene - either through the Roads and Traffic Authority taking control of the road or by the posting of an Interim Heritage Order.
But a spokeswoman for Mr O'Farrell answered written Newcastle Herald questions on these possibilities yesterday by saying: "It's an issue for Newcastle City Council."
Mr Owen was concerned over the cost of the police presence, which was coming from the police operational budget, rather than council coffers.
The vote that cleared the way for the trees to fall was held on Thursday, August 25. The issue can be debated again - if the trees are still standing - once three months have elapsed.
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