Council faces huge weed funding shortfall

By Tania Martin
THE Shire of Yarra Ranges has been left to foot a massive weeds bill after a new State Government land and management program was unveiled.
Under the government’s new plan $20 million will be spent over the next four years on land and weed management.
But for the council, the funding will be of little help.
The funding equates to $5 million a year, which is to be split between the 79 councils across state, leaving Yarra Ranges with a $63,291 share to tackle the growing problem.
This latest deal follows a council call for an extra $1 million a year for weed management.
But despite the council’s continual calls for help, the government has allocated very little for weeds.
The council was told last year that the state-wide provision for weeds did not allow for such a big allocation ($1m).
Walling Ward Councillor Len Cox said although any money was welcome, $63,000 a year was nowhere near enough to fix the weed problem that plagues the shire.
Cr Cox said he doesn’t believe the government truly understands how serious the problem is.
“All you have to do is drive through the shire and you can see that it’s a massive issue,” he said.
In the past 12 months the council has spent more than $500,000 of ratepayers’ money on tackling weeds.
“That doesn’t include all the hard working community groups that do a lot of work to eradicate weeds,” Cr Cox said.
He said that despite the council’s need to spend more on weeds, the cash would soon dry up.
“I’m doubtful we could spend much more on it at this stage” Cr Cox said.
“We are quite desperate for help from the government.”
Evelyn Liberal MP Christine Fyffe said this latest funding was a clear indication that Premier John Brumby was either ignorant of the weeds burden or shows that he doesn’t care.
“Our Premier has no comprehension of the financial pressures facing councils.
Ms Fyffe said although it was still not clear how much the Shire of Yarra Ranges would receive, it was clear that ratepayers would end up picking up the tab.
Ms Fyffe said the council has 3514 kilometres of roadside to manage and with just $100 a kilometre to manage weeds, the council would need at least $175,500 a year.
“With rural communities doing it tough at the moment, the last thing ratepayers deserve – and Yarra Ranges needs – is to have to pick up the tab for another government cost-shift,” she said.