00:02From above, the scale of the loss is stark.
00:06Large stretches of woodland cleared.
00:09Almost 5,000 pine trees removed in an effort to contain the pest, which slowly dries them
00:16out and kills them.
00:17Part of the appeal of this place was the trees up the back, they were beautiful.
00:21They gave us some amazing shade in summertime.
00:24Simon Rookie's home backs onto recently cleared hillside.
00:28Now it's gone, the hill looks the worst for it.
00:31And with the trees down, there's concern power bills will go up.
00:36Naturally we're going to have to be using more air conditioning.
00:38Nearby, the loss is even harder to miss.
00:41It's very barren.
00:42We were told there were 3,500 plants to be put in.
00:47They must have run out when they got to our place, that's all I can say.
00:50With further detections, the number of trees facing removal could continue to grow.
00:55So those trees are being removed from around the reservoir, the aqueducts and a number
01:01of trees along Lions Road.
01:03Raising questions about the impact on local wildlife.
01:07We have lost a lot of habitat for our red-tailed black cockatoos, for our koalas, for all of
01:12our wildlife that use those trees as habitat and as weather protection.
01:15The government says removing infected trees is the only scientifically agreed way to manage
01:21the pest.
01:22If we don't eradicate giant pine scale, all of the pine trees will be infected and then
01:27they will all need to be removed in time.
01:30It's committed $5.5 million to replant affected areas with native species.
01:36I'm just hoping that they'll plant some more next year to fill the space.
01:41But it could take decades before the landscape recovers.
01:45The beautiful trees are in this place.
01:46The east is a mountain range from which we have been surrounded by the plants.
01:46I used to draw a little rain to the plants so that I know that we have the birds of
01:46the
01:46grass, and some of the plants were from the plants.
01:47But it would be a biggie for the plants and people who have the plants that are coming in.
