Three Malabine farmers are frustrated with the Shire of Northam’s noxious weed control program, saying the town was an extreme fire risk this summer.
The men who prefer not to be named, say they speak on behalf of the local farming community.
The maintenance program is conducted in the townsite and rural areas by Shire employees, with a focus on fire prevention, visibility and drainage maintenance caused by noxious weeds.
It costs the Shire approximately $90,000 annually due to the labour, plant and consumables / materials associated with its application.
The farmers argue the weed spraying system is inefficient and is a waste of ratepayer funds.
“If it is not done at a specific time, the fertiliser is blown and kills our crop – I have lost an acre or two,” one farmer said.
The second farmer expressed his concern with the system and the building fuel load. “They are spraying too late and not getting on top of it and it is becoming a fire hazard,” he said.
“Over the last four years they have sprayed twice, in April and September, when the grass was dead and then when it was dry – it is not effective.
“I think they could spend ratepayers’ money more wisely by employing a licensed contractor to do their spraying, like Goomalling who hires a contractor to work with the farmers and their needs.”
The third farmer agreed. “It is such a bad fire hazard and the weeds are becoming resistant, making them harder to kill.
“The fuel load is extreme this year,” he added.
The farmers said they raised the issue at a council meeting in February 2015 and were told the situation would be addressed.
A Department of Health spokesperson said direct employees of a local government do not need to be licensed, however they do need appropriate training in the safe application of chemicals.
Northam Shire chief executive officer Jason Whiteaker said the relevant staff were trained in chemicals and were not required to be licensed.
“The relevant staff have completed chemical handling / application training (Chem-Safe Dangerous goods and Hazardous substances course) as well as our more general OSH training we provide to staff,” he said.
Mr Whiteaker said the Shire was aware of the bushfire risk and was taking action to address it.
“The Shire of Northam is very mindful of bushfire risk / risk management and consequently uses its best endeavours to minimise its risks in this area.
“Keeping in mind the Shire has in excess of 1400 kilometres of verges to maintain, hence our management of verges is very much resource-driven.
“If there are particular areas of concern the Shire of Northam would be pleased to be notified which will allow staff to investigate and take appropriate action, again resource permitting.”
He said the Shire had allocated funds to employ a dedicated rural verges crew in its current 2016/17 budget.
“While it is not envisaged that this crew (two staff) will be able to address all/every concern it highlights the Council's commitment to concerns which have been raised in regards to our rural verges.”
