This Paihia business is making sure contractors can’t mistake its stance on roadside spraying with no less than four signs along its freshly planted Puketona Rd verge. Photo / Peter de Graaf
This Paihia business is making sure contractors can’t mistake its stance on roadside spraying with no less than four signs along its freshly planted Puketona Rd verge. Photo / Peter de Graaf
Far North environmental groups are urging members to sign up to a council no-spray register ahead of the next round of roadside spraying.
The use of herbicides to tackle roadside weeds has been a hot topic since a spraying operation late last year funded by the government's Covid-19 recovery programme. The operation was part of the Ministry of Business, Industry and Employment's Covid-19 worker redeployment package.
Landcare groups in Waimate North and Russell said the spraying appeared to be indiscriminate, with community-planted pohutukawa targeted while invasive weeds such as pampas grass were untouched. Mapou, a native shrub, came in for a particular hammering.
A public notice in local newspapers, announcing a fresh round of spraying in the southern half of the district starting on January 22 and continuing for a month, has sparked fresh concerns.
Russell Landcare chairman David McKenzie said he was urging locals to be proactive by signing up to the Far North District Council's no-spray register and putting signs out on their verges if they had concerns.
A public notice wasn't enough given it was so soon after the last controversy. More engagement with locals and better notification was needed before another round started, he said.
''It's bad timing and tone deaf,'' he said.
Russell Landcare chairman David McKenzie with a kauri on Constitution Hill he says was affected by the last round of roadside spraying. Photo / Supplied
McKenzie also questioned the fire risk posed by dead vegetation and the council's ''blanket use'' of glyphosate. Apart from health and environmental concerns, traces of the herbicide found in honey were already causing difficulties for exporters.
Council infrastructure manager Andy Finch said the current spray programme was part of normal road berm weed eradication carried out twice a year.
It targeted weeds within 1.5m of the road berm to keep stormwater drains clear and make sure sightlines and road signs weren't obstructed.
The spraying conducted late last year targeted noxious plants and covered a 2m-wide strip from the road edge and up to 4.5m in height.
That was a one-off programme funded by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment as part of its Covid-19 worker redeployment package.
The contractor carrying out the current spraying work was the one normally used by the Northland Transportation Alliance, not the one engaged under the Covid-19 scheme.
Finch said the council had carried out the same kind of weed spraying for many years without Fire and Emergency NZ raising concerns that it contributed to fires.
Any resident who didn't want the berm sprayed outside their house could join the council's no-spray register. Contractors would not spray those areas if "no spray" signs were visible and householders agreed to keep the berm clear of weeds.
The current spraying round does not include state highways, which are the responsibility of Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency.
[PRINT ONLY] ■ To find the register go to fndc.govt.nz and search for "spray". fndc.govt.nz/Our-Services/Transport/Roads/Vegetation-mowing-and-spraying
