In short:
Dozens of trees, including at least one Norfolk pine, have been targeted in a mass poisoning along a Sunshine Coast beachfront walkway.
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Dozens → include → walkway
Council teams have now scoured the area to remove any trace of the poison, as they work to identify the chemicals and potentially a culprit.
What's next
If a culprit is found and prosecuted, environmental vandalism can carry fines of more than $130,000.
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vandalism → scour → 130,000
Dozens of native trees, including at least one towering Norfolk pine, are dying after being illegally doused with poison along a beachfront walkway on Queensland's Sunshine Coast.
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Dozens → include → Coast
A 300-metre stretch along Dicky Beach in Caloundra was the target of the chemical attack, which has the potential to permanently contaminate the soil.
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which → have → soil
Sunshine Coast councillor Terry Landsberg said council teams had been scouring the area "with a fine-tooth comb" to remove any remaining traces of the poison.
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teams → say → poison
"It's so distressing to see the amount of dieback that we're actually witnessing, as well as potentially the loss of one of our iconic Norfolk pines,"he said.
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we → see → pines,"he
"This is probably one of the largest in terms of poisoning that we've witnessed [on the Sunshine Coast].
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we → witness → Coast
To see it on this scale is really distressing."
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see → see → scale
Cr Landsberg said the council was testing the samples collected from the area to determine the exact poison used, in the hopes of saving the affected trees.
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council → say → trees
"It appears as though this poison may be affecting the photosynthesis, and maybe their ability to attract sunlight,"he said.
uncertain
poison → appear → sunlight,"he
"We can see that it's extremely aggressive".
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it → see → ?
'We've got to follow due process'
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We → get → process
The councillor declined to speculate about why anyone would want to poison a long line of beachfront trees.
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anyone → decline → trees
"You can take your own assumptions in regards to why people do this on this scale," he said.
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he → take → scale
"We've got to make sure we respect the process before we start singling out any property owner or individual.
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we → get → owner
"We've got to follow due process and make sure we deal with it in an appropriate manner.
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we → get → manner
"
If a culprit is found and prosecuted, environmental vandalism can carry fines of more than $130,000.
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vandalism → find → 130,000
Caloundra resident Chloe Christopher, 28, has lived in the area her entire life, and said she was hurt to see the damage done.
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damage → live → area
She said the area was usually "luscious" and dotted with flowers.
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area → say → flowers
"It's sad to see because we live in such a beautiful part of the coast, so it's really sad to come past and see all of our beautiful plants dying," she said.
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she → see → plants
"I'm not sure what the point of poisoning it was, but it's just really disappointing because it just ruined a beautiful place on the coast."
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it → ruin → coast
Brittany Guy, who lives nearby, spends a lot of time in the area with her young son and said she was furious to learn trees had been poisoned.
"What was the point?
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point → live → son
Do you live around here?
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you → live → ?
Do your children grow up around here?"she said.
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children → grow → ?
"There's people paying millions and millions of dollars to live here for the environment that we live in and that nature we're around.
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we → be → that
I don't understand why they would do that."
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they → understand → that
Couple fined over Noosa clearing
The Sunshine Coast council is not the only one grappling with illegal destruction of trees and greenery.
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council → fin → trees
In September, Noosa couple Heidi Meyer and Kim Carroll were ordered to replant almost 1,600 trees and pay court fees of almost $50,000 for illegally clearing their private land.
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couple → order → land
The cleared and subdivided land on Picture Point Crescent in Noosa Heads was listed for sale online for $25 million last year.
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land → clear → million
A Noosa council spokesman said he hoped the costs and orders would serve as a warning to others.
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costs → say → others
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