In the Shire of Yarra Ranges we have extensive networks of roads, so the job of managing these for weeds is a particularly onerous task and an expensive one at that. The other factor that magnifies this as an issue is that the State government is not providing the resources necessary for the Councils to undertake this task. 

This week the government opened of a new round of grants to manage roadside weeds. But this is not just about money (more on this latter). The problem is also what weeds are being funded - declared noxious weeds. Don't get me wrong, we need to tackle the declared noxious weeds but many of the problem weeds that are running rampant in the shire are not on this list and therefore would not be eligible for the funding program. I spoke to one of the coordinators of the program and whilst they may make grants available for work on roadsides with high value native vegetation, it is overridingly aimed at those weeds that are regionally prohibited and regionally controlled. We will have to wait and see if the Shire is successful with funding for this. 

Back to the money issue, as part of the Future Farming Strategy announced as part of this years budget in May, the state government committed $20 million dollars over 4 years towards 'new action on weeds and pests', with the following goals:

• supporting local government in their management of weeds and pests on roadsides

• developing incursion and treatment plans for regionally prohibited weeds

• improving early response capability for new and emerging pests in a changing climate

• increasing voluntary compliance for regionally controlled weeds

• more effectively controlling weeds and pests on public land by expanding the Government’s Good Neighbour Program

• improving the use of bio-controls for management of widespread weeds

• reviewing wild dog management options

• increasing community involvement in more targeted programs for integrated fox management.

Don't get me wrong - these are all good initiatives, my question is how is $20 million over 4 years which translates to about $63,000 per council each year, going to adequately resource all these initiatives? The answer is that it isn't. Even if it were all to be spent on roadside weeds (which it isn't) it works out like this - let's look at the Shire of Yarra Ranges which has 941 km of sealed roads and streets and approximately 867 km of unsealed roads - a total of 1808 Km of roadsides - this amount of money works out at $30 per Km and don't forget each Kilometre has two sides so it is more like $15 per km. Not a lot. Lets hope that when the State Government finalises its negotiations with local councils on this matter that we see a real shift of resources to accompany any permanent shift of responsibility.