General News
28 September, 2022
More weed cash needed
EDITORIALONE must wonder if higher tiers of government take rural councils seriously, based on meagre or no increase in funds made available for local government to perform key services. This week’s Loddon Herald carries the story about Loddon...
EDITORIAL
ONE must wonder if higher tiers of government take rural councils seriously, based on meagre or no increase in funds made available for local government to perform key services.
This week’s Loddon Herald carries the story about Loddon Shire receiving $75,000 from the State Government for roadside weed control.
An impressive figure it may well sound, until context is provided. The amount allocated to the shire has stayed the same for 10 years ... one whole decade when labour and operating costs have increased and councils across the Victorian countryside are faced with staying on top of a weed problem that, in some cases, continues to increase.
Without a substantial injection of funds, there will be greater challenges and risks for biosecurity with the spread of weeds and pest from roadside to farm land, from public land to productive rural properties.
To have kept council at the same funding level for a decade is a sad indictment on government administration and a growing disaster in tackling weeds.
And it’s not just weeds. It was announced last week that Loddon Shire had received its annual slice of the library funding pie.
Again, great, but the increase is just 1.47 per cent. Everyone knows that wages and utilities are rising more than such a miniscule amount.
Councils are well placed to run libraries and get rid of weeds - doing the Government’s business if you like because they are on the ground. But they need realistic funding, not crumbs left under the table.