COUNCIL APOLOGIES FLOW OVER TREE BLUE

“We can’t be seen as belting up on an old lady like this and seeing this happen. The tree of this size in anyone’s mind does not fit the block of this size and that’s the problem.”  – Silverleaf Gerard O’Brien

HEARTFELT thanks and apologies for improper process poured out at Fremantle council last night when elected members acknowledged the City’s controversial tree registration process had taken a heavy toll on the Cattalini family.
Members of the family who own the Moreton Bay at 195 High Street warned the City is headed into legal waters unless it came clean on why it never sought permission in 2018 to list the 135-year-old fig tree.
Mayor Hannah Fitzhardinge said: “My heart goes out to you on the process side of things. It hasn’t been clear. It hasn’t been clear to us. It hasn’t been clear to you and I can see the toll it has taken on the family. I genuinely feel for you in that.”
However, when a family member during public question time asked the mayor, “You don’t want to answer?” No, she said.
Danielle Cattalini was less blunt: “Do you want to go to court on this?” She said the family had worked hard with council for the past 14 months, “and yet three times since February we are here”.
She said there was not an additional tree put on the register in five years until February when an owner asked to have their tree listed: “So why are you spending so much time on this? We don’t want to go to court, but if we are forced to we will.”
She said there was a lot at stake for the family and the Fremantle community, “which I think you are ignoring”.
She added: “Yes there was a protest and all the people in front of the tree, but where have they been? They have not been at one council meeting. We have been here all the time. Not one person returned to help clean up, and yet my mum is struggling.”
Danielle added: “Why would we go to court? Because we want everyone to see that you have not followed the process and yet at the same time you can do a resolution to take down at least six trees in Kings Square. Why do you pick on one person, my mother, who has committed so much to this community for so long, and our father who was mayor and helped list so much heritage.”
Pam Cattalini, in her 80s, was just as blunt: “This process of the tree started 14 months ago when I applied to have it removed (from the register). Neither myself or any of the occupants at 195 High Street gave permission for the tree to be put on the significant tree register which was validated on February 14 from which we received an apology from the mayor for doing so, stating later to the media the decision was to take it off the register and that it should probably have never been included in the first place.
“We as a family love the tree on our private property and as you can see have cared for it for over 60 years. Every day my children and I still go down to sweep, clean the carpark area without the assistance of the Fremantle city council that was promised and stopped over 20 years ago.”
She said her vision for the block is to see, “beautiful apartments, possibly a retirement hub for the ageing community or restaurants and offices”. Unfortunately, developers are restricted by the tree and reluctant to buy or invest while it was on the register.
“On the list, off the list, back on the list and now again a change in the process all being implemented and written to resurrect the mistakes made by the council in the past,” she said. “And the tree and I are in the middle of it. I’m confused and cannot understand why we are here again and why the City sees it necessary to change the rules once again for the third time in less than three months. Can you please inform me again why you are not following your own policies and processes? Why for the past five years after putting our tree on the register without my consent council had listed only one other tree nominated by the owner. Is it because you need the owner’s permission to do so?
“Why are you still actively pursuing me about my tree?”
Then came the apologies from councillors who voted to revisit the tree registration process.
The first came from North ward councillor Ingrid van Dorssen: “I would like to thank the Cattalini family for attending tonight and all council meetings over the past several months and your presentations and information and contributions to our decision making.”
Central ward councillor Geoff Graham was next, speaking of his humanity: “Hopefully, I have shown that through this process as much as others perhaps haven’t in some respect and that’s no disrespect meant but we do have to have a degree of humanity and I would link to thank the Cattalini family for putting up with what they have had to sit through.”
And then, East ward councillor Fedele Camarda whose amendment cemented the decision to revisit the flawed register: “To quote Pam Cattalini, ‘I’m confused and cannot understand why we are here again’. And it’s sad for your family that it’s got to this point. I respect the way you have conducted yourselves and patience you have shown so thank you for that.”