NOXIOUS WEEDS

Greymouth Evening Star, 27 December 1934, Page 10

NOXIOUS WEEDS

REPLY TO CRITICISM. Criticism raised at a recent meeting of the Makara County Council in regard to the latest noxious weeds .legislation and the attitude of the Department of Agriculture was replied to on Monday in a statement from the Department. “The Department’s ' attention Jias been called to a report of a meeting of the Makara County Council held last week at which a communication from the Department regarding the noxious weeds legislation passed last session was read and discussed,” the statement says. “In the course of discussion the Department was criticised over its alleged endeavour to relinquish the responsibility of administration of the Noxious Weeds Act by placing it upon the county councils. The opinion was expressed that this supposed attitude on the part of the Department was unfair. “It is quite evident that those councillors who voiced this criticism were not conversant with the real position. As a matter of fact, before the legislation in question was drafted strong representations had been made to the Government as a result of the meeting of some county councils in the Auckland Province for legislation to be brought down giving county councils ■ power to deal with noxious weeds, par- ; ticularly ragwort, in their districts, ■ and the legislation which was brought I down and passed was designed to give i effect to this to as full an extent as • was practicable. The Amending Act is perfectly clear on the point that it is entirely at the option of a county council whether it takes over the administration of the Noxious Weeds Act ' or not, and it is certainly no novel procedure for a local authority to take over this responsibility, seeing that a number of county councils have in the past had one or more of their officials appointed inspectors of noxious weeds to assist in dealing with noxious weeds within the county. This was done by

direct arrangement with the Department, and if the absence of any difficulties arising as a result can be accepted as a criterion, the system can he said to have worked satisfactorily. Further, under the provisions of the Noxious Weeds Amendment Act, 1927, it became the responsibility of local authorities in urban areas (city and borough councils) throughout the Dominion to administer the Noxious

Weeds Act in the areas under their jurisdiction. “While realising that a State department must expect criticism at times, and appreciating the fact that the Noxious Weeds Act is an extremely difficult Act to administer satisfactorily, one councillor went far beyond the bounds of fair criticism in his remarks regarding the Department- The Department has throughout been active in endeavouring to do the best possible in the circumstances in dealing with noxious weeds, and if county councillors, instead of indulging in loose and unwarrantable criticism, would at least co-operate with the Department in the endeavour to deal with this menace, good would result.”