Land managers take note!!

WEEDS aren’t sexy… far from it!

And you’re not going to win an election by providing proper funding to Parks Victoria, Agriculture Victoria, Landcare or the local shire councils to deal with their weeds’ problems.

So, under the present cynical, woke approach taken by governments of all persuasions, weeds on the roadsides, in government-owned and shire-managed reserves, and on private property are out of control.

And you’ve heard it here first folks, a plant that hasn’t even been declared a noxious weed in Victoria, the Sweet pittosporum (Pittosporum undulatum), is invading the state’s landscape like you wouldn’t believe, destroying remnant bush, roadside trees and plantations, quietly destroying forests, woodland, heath and coastal vegetation and no one is doing anything about it!

Oh, the responsible government departments know about Sweet pittosporum, a plant that defies all but the most intensive chemical treatment, and the damage it is causing by out-competing all other vegetation, but it’s not even on the government’s radar.

Take Henry Littledyke Reserve, between Poowong and Nyora, a potentially nice little reserve that would make an ideal picnic spot beside a small lake. There’s Sweet pittosporum, of course there is, but there’s also a nasty infestation of ragwort on its south side, not to mention a liberal sprinkling of the highly productive yellow scourge through the reserve.

But we’re told Parks Victoria has $5000 to manage the weeds at Henry Littledyke and two other reserves in the area.

Parks Vic, right across the board, is a woefully underfunded service, and if the government is going to continue to create new reserves, while also banning native timber harvesting, the government and their Green mates are going to have to get serious about properly funding Parks Vic, and the attack on weeds including the obvious trio of ragwort, thistles and blackberry but also the looming threat posed by Sweet pittosporum.

One thing the government should do immediately, however, without any additional cost to the taxpayers is to reactivate the practice of forced entry on especially serious weed infestations on private property, engaging contractors to treat the problem, and sending the bill to the recalcitrant landowners.

They either pay the bill, or it becomes a caveat recorded on the title, attracting interest until it is paid, or the property sold.

The trouble with forcing landowners to act however, is state and local government isn’t taking responsibility for their own weeds problems.