First cut is the deepest

NOT all heroes wear capes.

Sometimes they’re marketing executives who say they “prune” trees in an effort to help a community connect to high-speed broadband.

Despite his purported good intentions, Bonogin man Gareth Sharples found the sound of four trees falling on his rural property was not silence, but prosecution by the Gold Coast City Council.

The father of two found himself in the Southport Mag- istrates Court yesterday charged with carrying out assessable development without a permit and failing to comply with an enforcement notice in June 2016. He is contesting the charges.

The infringements came after he was approached by the community group “Better Broadband for Bonogin” and broadband company Wires to see whether his 13.77ha property would be a suitable site for a telecommunications tower, the court heard.

The court was told Sharples asked his father Paul Sharples, a qualified arborist, to cut the tops of four gum trees to clear a line of sight to the Springbrook transmitter tower.

Barrister Keith Wylie, for the Council, argued this was unlawful because Sharples didn’t have development approval to “destroy the vegetation”.

And, even had a development permit been lodged it would have been refused, the council argued.

The court was told when enforcement officers arrived at the property, they saw a mulcher and Sharples said he was “just pruning the trees”.

Despite hearing evidence from council arborist Phillip Ware the trees had been “severely damaged” and were “likely to die” after being cut to about 8m, Sharples produced photographs that showed them regrowing.

Mr Ware said this was “stress growth”.

While giving evidence, Sharples said internet in Bonogin was “very poor”.

He argued he had agreed to trim the trees instead of allowing the telecommunications company to fell them.

“Rather than getting a tree feller to cut the trees at ground level, I offered to cut the trees half way in an effort to keep them alive,” he said.

“I had no malicious intent.” Sharples was issued with an enforcement notice in 2015 after about 100 trees were cleared on his property, the court heard.

The act of cutting the four trees was also contrary to the notice, the council argue.

Sharples argued he was allowed to cut the trees under state legislation regulating telecommunications.

“I was approached by the community to provide a solution for broadband,” he said.

“I have gone above and beyond trying to do something at my own time and my own expense to provide something for the greater good. (The trees) are alive and healthy.

“I don’t know every law in every book. Surely you can appreciate what the intention was and why those four trees were cut ... I’m a Justice of the Peace. I’ve got two children ... I’m trying to do the right thing.”

Magistrate Gary Finger has reserved his decision.