State Member for Northern Victoria Mark Gepp recently announced the government is investing $75,000 through the Roadside Weeds and Pests Control Program to support Moira Shire Council.
Mr Gepp said weeds and pests cost the Victorian economy more than $900 million each year by disrupting agricultural production, damaging native biodiversity and contributing to the spread of fires.
“This funding will support Moira Shire Council to carry out important work that protects our rural communities from invasive weeds and pests,” Mr Gepp said.
The funding will assist with a range of activities along their rural roadsides, including treating and preventing ‘regionally controlled’ and ‘restricted’ weeds, managing rabbit populations and community consultation.
Regionally controlled weeds are defined as being widespread in a region, requiring landowners to prevent their growth and spread, while ‘restricted’ weeds are considered a serious threat to all states and territories.
Trading ‘restricted’ weeds and their propagules, either as plants, seeds, or contaminants, in other materials, is banned.
Weeds can be categorised differently depending on where they are in the state, for example, Ragwort is ‘controlled’ in Corangamite, Glenelg, East and West Gippsland, Port Phillip and Western Port, ‘prohibited’ in Goulburn and north-east Victoria and ‘restricted’ in Mallee, north-central Victoria and the Wimmera.
State Minister for Local Government Melissa Horne said the government was investing $11.5 million over four years in the Weeds and Pests Control Program, providing greater protections for agriculture, roads and the environment.
“We’re supporting local communities to reduce the spread of weeds and pests along rural roadsides, that have the potential to wreak havoc on native plant species,” Ms Horne said.
“Through better control of our roadside weeds and pests, we could potentially save our farmers and economy millions of dollars each year.”
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