AFTER years of bitter fighting over the fate of the Laman Street figs, the end came yesterday with more of a whimper than a bang.
Newcastle City Council started the felling before dawn, with a contingent of police on hand to stop protesters interfering with the contractors.
The absence of the sound and fury present at the council’s previous attempt to remove the trees suggested, perhaps, some exhaustion on the part of opponents.
No matter which side of the argument they support, most ratepayers are probably relieved to see an end to the long and expensive fight.
In the minds of many opponents, of course, some of the key issues will now remain unresolved.
The council’s determination to refuse an independent review of the matter – even when the Premier, Barry O’Farrell, offered the services of a government arborist at no cost – has ensured that those who suspected the trees weren’t quite the hazard the council insisted will remain forever unconvinced.
Arguing against a review, councillor Bob Cook warned of possible ‘‘reputational damage’’ for council staff or consultants. Some might suggest that any potential damage could hardly have been worse than the ill-feeling that has stemmed from the refusal to permit a review.
Lord mayor John Tate had called for the trees to remain until September so the local government election could become a virtual referendum on the figs. That can’t now occur, but some ratepayers’ votes will surely be influenced by the issue.
How much the fig-fight resonates in the election may depend on what the council does next in Laman Street.
Replanting exercise
Among the council’s more recent declarations on the topic was an assurance that advanced young fig trees were being readied for a major replanting exercise, with two rows of trees to be planted in subterranean vaults designed to contain their roots.
If, by September, enough voters are sufficiently impressed by whatever redevelopment work has taken place, their feelings may be reflected in the poll in the form of support for those councillors who insisted the old must make way for the new.
Those voters to whom the Laman Street figs are an issue of little consequence will be hoping the end of the dispute will also end a period of apparent civic paralysis and that attention may now return to other pressing problems around the city.
According to the council, more than $1.6million has been spent on the fig argument, with funds expended on everything from security guards to safety fencing. Newcastle City Council may learn from the debacle. It’s unlikely, at least, that the council will again use provisions of state roads legislation to remove landmark trees. Indeed, if moves now under way in Parliament result in those laws being amended the council won’t have the option.
The Laman Street figs will soon be no more than a memory, but memories of the long, bitter fight over their fate will take some time to fade.
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