Australian environmentalists dish out coconut-rough justice

Hugh Spencer poisons coconut palms in a bid to de-nut the coastline.

CAPE TRIBULATION: They are a symbol of Australia's tropical north, their rustling fronds framing picture postcard views of white sand beaches and the azure waters of the Coral Sea.

But north Queensland's coconut palms are under a two-pronged attack - from councils who fear they will drop their bulky fruit on the heads of unsuspecting passers-by and conservationists who say the trees are crowding out native rainforest.

So passionate is the clash that one environmental group has taken the law into its own hands, poisoning the trees in a covert campaign of sabotage.

"The whole bloody coastline is infested," said environmental biologist Hugh Spencer, who has received hate mail for leading the counter-coconut charge.

Marching down the beach at Cape Tribulation, in north Queensland, Dr Spencer ignores the bikini-clad backpackers sunning themselves on towels. Instead he heads for a thick grove of Cocos nucifera, crashes into the tinder dry leaf litter and points out a tiny hole in the base of a particularly tall specimen.

"We put poison in there. It's entirely illegal, I might add. We do it on days when the weather is bad and there's no one on the beach," said Spencer, head of the Australian Tropical Research Foundation.

Coconut palms are just one of hundreds of species of introduced plants that have thrived in Australia since the beginning of European settlement in 1788. Millions of dollars are spent each year trying to eradicate or at least control the exotics.

But coconut palms are now considered an irreplaceable part of Queensland's tropical ambience by many locals and visitors.

"When the council chopped down 100 palm trees at a local beach, people were outraged," said Barry O'Brien, of the community group Preserve Our Palms. "We have other dangerous things up here like crocodiles and snakes and stinging jellyfish but no one is suggesting we kill them all."

Attempting to reconcile the pro- and anti-coconut camps are local authorities such as Douglas Shire Council, which administers a swathe of idyllic coastline north of Cairns.

Increasing litigiousness in Australia means that councils are terrified they will be sued by anyone injured by falling nuts.

Councils "de-nut" the trees twice a year to reduce the danger.

"A fully grown nut weighs a couple of kilos and if it falls on you from 30m, it'll do a lot of damage," said Bob Jago, the council's environmental officer.

"But if you suggested removing them, you'd get lynched."