WERRIBEE South farmers may have to foot the bill for new sprinklers under a proposed amendment to the Wyndham City Council’s Land Management Rate Rebate Scheme.
The council is concerned spray from irrigation sprinklers is wetting crop-adjacent roads, endangering road users.
An update report of the scheme claims irrigation is creating hazardous road conditions, making road shoulders “unusable and dangerous”.
The amendment would mean farmers are required to install 180-degree rotational sprinklers to reduce spray on to roads, at personal cost.
Werribee South representatives dismissed the changes during discussions in August last year due to the high cost of the sprinklers ($15-$50). Some properties have more than 40 roadside sprinklers.
Nik Tsardakis, president of Ratepayers of Werribee South, says asking farmers to pay is “a bit harsh”.
“If their concern is about safety, they would be better off fixing the problems that exist here on the shoulders on the roads. Whenever it rains, the roads become dangerous because the shoulders of the roads are higher than the bitumen. There isn’t any rain run-off. At the moment they just put up the warning signs.”
The council reports an average of 97 per cent compliance since the rate rebate scheme was introduced in 2000. However, the sprinklers are a sore point in the scheme which Mr Tsardakis says is dissatisfying overall to Werribee South farmers.
The scheme awards a 20 per cent land rate rebate to farmers who meet council land management standards concerning weed/feral animal management and irrigation. The rebate may be reversed if the standards are not upheld. If all eligible landowners comply with the scheme, the total rebate offered in 2007-2008 will be $1.16 million, a signficant increase on the $500,000 offered in 2004-2005.
However, Mr Tsardakis says Werribee South farmers preferred the old land rate system. Before the scheme was established agricultural property land rates were discounted 25 per cent under urban land rates.
While the scheme is not compulsory, farmers are left paying full urban rates if they choose not to comply.
According to a council information brochure on the rebate scheme, farmers are required to “satisfactorily control nominated weeds and pest animals to standards described in the property management plan” to be eligible for the rebate.
Pest control remains a legal requirement under the 1994 Catchment Land Protection Act (CLPA) which is not tied to the land rates of property.
However, Mr Tsardakis says good land management isn’t a matter of complying with the scheme or the CLPA, but an issue of necessity for farmers.
“Because of the nature of what we do down here, we don’t let weeds grow because we can’t afford to let them grow. The scheme requirements aren’t applicable to Werribee South farmers.”
“We have to be good custodians of the land. We use the land to earn a living by making sure the land stays viable and sustainable. For this alone we deserve the rebate.”
The Department of Primary Industries (DPI) works closely with the council on the scheme. DPI representatives approach a property when the landowner fails an assessment by the council. DPI catchment co-ordinator Adam Kay says that even with the scheme in place, weed problems on farmland are still occurring.
“Currently we receive between 30 and 50 calls to the Wyndham area per year to assess rural landowners who are not controlling noxious weeds on their property,” says Mr Kay.
According to a 2003 report from the Municipal Association Victoria, numerous rural landowners commented that the scheme had achieved “positive results in reducing weed and pest animal infestations when compared with the situation before the scheme’s introduction,” which “demonstrates a positive change in the attitude of many landowners”.
The council will be receiving comments on from the public in a future forum meeting prior to adopting the changes.
