Farm spraying prompts resident concerns
I WOULD like to let you and your readers know that if you find, as I did, you and your property have been sprayed with farm poisons, they should think twice about bringing it to the attention of the local council, the Environment Protection Authority Victoria or Agriculture Victoria.
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You will be wasting your time.
They all know how to hide behind words.
The bigger the farm, the less significant are you.
The farmer gets their fingers smacked while you are left to watch your garden suffer the consequences.
He may get his crop next season but what of garden plants that have taken eight years to establish?
The long and the short of it is that it is all about power – that is, the power of bureaucracy and that of land ownership.
On June 6 I was subjected to at least an hour of unsolicited fumigation before I was told what the haze covering my property was.
And yet it seems that I must simply tolerate being saturated with that herbicide purely because I have chosen to live in the country.
Although I unwittingly endured poison settling on my skin, hair, eyes and lips, all I asked for was an apology with the assurance that positive steps would be taken to ensure such a large scale blunder would not re-occur.
I note that the spraying went on for hours so it was hardly a mistake.
It wasn’t enough that both my neighbour and I witnessed the haze settling on us, for I was told, finally on August 3 that although the farmer acknowledged they sprayed that day, with no mention that the strong winds were blowing our way, council were treating it as an isolated incident and would taking an educational approach.
What a pathetic excuse.
Even I know that to use poison, one should be educated on its use first and certainly not to initiate such large-scale spraying when conditions are unfavourable.
How many complaints do they need, I wonder?
His home is also in proximity to the fields so I’m sure he would have ensured his property was protected that day.
The council representative also said that they would need to witness infractions themselves.
Their office, if they are in attendance, is over 130 kilometres from here.
Those are not good odds.
They also suggested that I monitor future spraying and to log the dates and times of what I perceive to happening along with documented health effects.
So stupid!
I can’t think why on earth I would want to do that.
Why I would let myself be voluntarily in harm’s way again?
I’m a retired individual and want nothing more than to live peaceably and to enjoy my right to a quality of life that is of my own making.
Catherine Selwood, Miram
Fundraiser working to fight against stroke
ON BEHALF of local stroke survivors and the Stroke Foundation, I would like to thank members of the community who took on Run Melbourne on July 29.
A total of 64 participants took part, including 93 year old Ken Lyons.
They helped to raise funds to continue the fight against stroke.
Many of the members of Team #Fightstroke, including Team BGL, Walk for Nany Cita and Castiel Shepp walked in honour of loved ones who had been impacted by stroke.
I sincerely thank those who took part and the families, friends, colleagues and community members who backed their efforts.
I am excited to announce that with your support, we collectively clocked up almost 1000 kilometres and raised almost $18,000.
These donations will enable Stroke Foundation to continue to partner with the community to prevent, treat and beat stroke.
Sadly, there will be more than 14,000 strokes in Victoria this year alone.
There is one stroke in Australia every nine minutes.
Stroke attacks the brain – the human control centre, changing lives in an instant.
The impact of a stroke is felt well beyond the individual, with families lives also turned upside down by this devastating disease.
Most of Team #fightstroke know this story only too well after either suffering a stroke themselves or witnessing the impact of stroke on someone they care about.
But stroke’s impact doesn’t need to be this great.
Around 80 per cent of strokes are preventable, and with the right treatment at the right time many people can recover from stroke.
Looking after our own health is the first step.
Physical inactivity is now the second highest risk factor for stroke behind high blood pressure, so it’s time to follow the lead of Team #Fightstroke and get moving.
Find out how you can reduce your stroke risk and support the fight against stroke at www.strokefoundation.org.au
Sharon McGowan, chief executive, Stroke Foundation