A NEW State Government program will see the Swan Hill Rural City Council take the lead in the fight against roadside weeds and pests across the municipality.
The Roadside Weeds and Pests Program (RWPP), which was launched last Friday, will fund 56 local councils across regional and rural Victoria to tackle weeds and pests which cost the agriculture industry alone around $1.2 billion every year.
According to local Member Peter Walsh, Swan Hill Rural City Council will receive $150,000 in the next three years to work with farmers and Landcare groups in the management of weeds and rabbits.
Local crusader Bruce ‘Weed Warrior’ Jones said the new funding was good news, but Victoria’s weed problem was too great to be tackled by local government alone.
“Local government certainly is in a good position to address some of the issues but it’s far too big of a problem to be funded out of local government rates,” Mr Jones said.
“State Government funding to address problems is an excellent start but the amount of funding that’s coming through is only a start.”
