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Parliamentary Questions


Question On Notice No. 1874 asked in the Legislative Council on 14 February 2019 by Hon Robin Chapple

Question Directed to the: Minister for Environment representing the Minister for Transport
Parliament: 40 Session: 1


Question

I refer to the Gibb River road upgrade - Derby Highway to Fairfield-Leopold Downs Road and the destruction, removal and in some cases burial of Boab trees along the latest stretch of road being upgraded, and photographs found here: https://robinchapple.com/gibb-river-road-boabs, and ask:
(a) why were so many Boabs removed from the road shoulder and or destroyed, whilst others in closer proximity to the road were left standing;
(b) how many Boabs were removed;
(c) how many Boabs were destroyed;
(d) how many Boabs were buried;
(e) with reference to the parking bay approximately 50km from Derby, why were the Boabs that were there removed and replaced by an unnatural line of salvaged Boabs;
(f) given that the road is as stated by Main Roads as, “an iconic 4WD adventure route and major tourist attraction due to its rugged nature”, why was such a large road verge created;
(g) what is the width of the road verges in this section of the road;
(h) why is the road verge in this section wider than in other sections;
(i) which agency has oversight of the environmental impacts and issues in creating such massive road verges; and
(j) if none to (i), why not?

Answered on 21 March 2019

(a) The only Boab trees removed were those deemed absolutely necessary for safety reasons.

(b) 19 Boab trees were removed, of those 16 were replanted.

(c) Nil

(d) 3

(e) Boab trees removed from clearing areas were replanted in a safe area outside of road clear zones.

(f)-(h) Main Roads generally maintains an 8-10m wide clear zone in road reserves in the Kimberley Region for road user safety. Additional width was cleared on one side of the road for a construction detour, which will regenerate in time.

(i) Department of Water and Environmental Regulation

(j) Not applicable