For seven years, we have been fighting the Brisbane City Council to remove their Council-owned leopard which is destroying our home. Its invasive roots have caused and continue to cause serious damage to our home. There is significant cracking and rotation to the internal and external walls, the staircase is separating and detaching from its original support and fixing locations, cracked tiles, cracked fence, doors and gates that don’t shut securely, each year it’s getting worse. 

Multiple independent engineering reports confirm the Council's leopard tree is causing damage. Every report reaches the same conclusion: as long as the tree remains, any repairs will only ever be temporary. The damage will continue and worsen for the life of the tree.

We explored every alternative before calling for removal. We investigated root barriers and root pruning, but engineers and arborists have all advised this would not be effective over the medium to long term. Removal is the only permanent solution.

We understand the value of street trees, but this particular tree, a species BCC itself no longer permits planting in residential settings, is causing worsening damage each year it remains.

Despite all of this evidence, BCC refuses to act.

We cannot touch the tree. We cannot permanently repair our home. We are entirely dependent on the Council doing the right thing and they won't.

That we should have to fight this hard and spend tens of thousands of dollars to protect our home  from a Council-owned tree is simply wrong.

This is not just our story. The leopard tree is not native to Australia, is known for its large aggressive root system, and BCC no longer permits new plantings in residential areas. Yet existing leopard trees continue to cause the same problems for homeowners across Brisbane, and in our experience Council is doing nothing about it. No Brisbane resident should have to fight this hard to protect their home.

We are asking Brisbane City Council to:

1) Remove and replace the leopard tree immediately with a safer, suitable species
2) Establish a clear, fair process for Brisbane residents whose properties are being damaged by Council-owned trees
3) Conduct a city-wide review of existing leopard trees and other known problematic trees in residential settings and proactively address damage being caused to private properties
4) Accept responsibility when Council-owned trees cause verifiable, documented damage to private homes, rather than forcing residents into years of legal battles at their own expense

5) Stop making rate payers fund legal fights against their own Council just to protect their homes

Please sign and share this petition. Seven years is long enough. Help us hold Brisbane City Council accountable, for us and for every Brisbane homeowner facing the same impossible situation.