PROSECUTIONS PENDING

Putaruru Press, Volume XXVII, Issue 1363, 26 January 1950, Page 2

PROSECUTIONS PENDING

RAGWORT MENACE County Council Tighten Up Thirty-seven Occupiers Listed The discovery of an administrative loop-hole in the system of dealing with defaulters under the Noxious Weeds Act has resulted in the Matamata County Council approving a water-tight procedure for the future which was proposed by the engineer, and brought into force by the acting-inspector, Mr A. T. Carter. For the council's information a list of 37 occupiers who had been served with statutory notices to clear ragwort was tabled, and members agreed that the cases were so bad, in view of the fact that warnings had been ignored, that drastic action would now have to be taken. In addition, reminder notices to clear had been sent to 27 other occupiers, Mr Ensor said. The feeling of members that the problem could be dealt with if its seriousness was properly realised was consolidated when Cr. J. E. Davidson referred to an' example in the Te Foi district. Thb speaker named a property which was known by all members to be very dirty indeed when it was sold a few years back. Yet the purchaser had nearly cleared the farm, on which ragwort could be mowed before he took it over. At the same time the occupier had milked a herd of 140 cows with the sole help of one man. Referring to nne badly-infested farm which had been listed, the engineer said that its bad state reminded him of the state of affairs 15 to 20 years ago. In his opinion the only way to deal with that particular property was to turn it over to sheep. A member : It a vicious case. Referring to other properties, a member stated that there were many bunches of great big flowering ragwort heads which had been there for weeks and had not been touched. Members agreed that it was “quite inevitable that prosecutions would follow the statutory notices now”—the loop-hole having been closed. . A member asked if a successful prosecution was taken whether it could be followed up with a further prosecution if nothing was done. The clerk replied that failure to clear was a continuing offence and further prosecutions could follow. Another member: That is what I want to know. We must not take a prosecution and then forget it. A further member remarked that if a bookmaker came up a second time or third time the penalty was increased and the same would happen with ragwort prosecutions. A voice: Bookmaking is a far less serious offence than failure to clear ragwort. The previous speaker: It is just like bringing up a youngster. If you keep on telling it to do something without taking action it will take no notice. Some farmers are just the same with ragwort notices and action must be taken to make them do something too. The report was adopted.