Western Victoria Region
Bev McARTHUR (Western Victoria) (12:49): (371) My question is for the Minister for Agriculture and concerns the Corangamite shire’s roadside grazing season, which begins on 1 September and will continue until April next year. Roads should be a firebreak, not a fire wick, and grazing the long paddock reduces fuel loads, increasing community safety. It is also good for drivers where roadside vegetation impedes vision or encroaches on roads. In drought situations it can be vital for cattle. It can easily be done safely during daylight hours with temporary electric fences. The bureaucratic burden, however, means councils frequently choose to do nothing. That is not just a wasted opportunity, it could be dangerous. So I trust the minister will congratulate the Corangamite shire, and I ask: what will she do to support Victorian farmers by working with colleagues in transport, environment and local government to make roadside grazing easier and to extend it where appropriate to state-administered roads?