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The recent
Ellsworth
street fire should serve as a timely reminder of the fire risk posed by heavy infestations of gorse. This declared noxious weed is very common around Ballarat and burns intensely even when the plant is green. All landholders have a legal
responsibility
to control gorse when it occurs on their property. Because gorse is widely established it has the potential to be a major factor in sparking wild fire around Ballarat.
Landholders
need to be proactive with their gorse control making sure that an annual program is implemented. The November edition of the My Ballarat magazine talks about the powers that the City of Ballarat possesses to issue a Fire Prevention notice. Gorse is mentioned in this feature several times as being a fire risk. Hopefully with the issuing of these notices and by continuing to create awareness, we will see more landholders doing something about this problem.
Peter Everist
Chairman Victorian Gorse Taskforce