South Gippsland Council sets grass 30cm height limit: Farmers stunned

South Gippsland Council have extended the period for public feedback on their proposed law to limit grass height. See how you can have your say here.

South Gippsland Council’s draft by-laws demand farmers must ensure their land is “not unsightly or detrimental to the amenity of the surrounding area” by keeping the grass height below 30cm.

Seven of South Gippsland Shire’s nine councillors have voted to release draft local laws that demand all landholders – rural and urban – keep their grass below 30cm.

The draft local by-law states all property owners in one of Victoria's lushest landscapes must ensure their land is “not unsightly or detrimental to the amenity of the surrounding area”.

Conditions under which a property is defined as unsightly or detrimental include those with “excessive vegetation, including grass exceeding 300mm in height”.

Property owners would also be required to ensure that any structure on their land is not “conducive to harbouring or breeding vermin”, as well as keeping all animal feed “in a vermin and fly-proof receptacle”.

Shire councillor and Foster North sheep and cattle producer Scott Rae said he had abstained from the vote on releasing the draft local laws last week, given they were not fit-for-purpose for a rural community that relied on agriculture as its main source of income.

“The draft doesn’t differentiate between agriculture and suburbia,” Mr Rae said.

“There seems to be a shire-wide proposal that excessive vegetation be considered grass in excess of 300mm – cows in grass, sheep in grass, silage and fodder production.”

At this stage he said community groups had already called for a clear exemption for agriculture to be included in the local laws.

Mr Rae said landholders would also be in breach of the draft local laws if they controlled council roadside weeds on their fence lines, by destroying vegetation.

Leongatha South Dairy Farmers Victoria member Benjamin Vagg said council clearly needed to redraft the local laws to exclude rural properties and abandon its one-size-fits all approach.

“All these rules are woefully inadequate,” Mr Vagg said.

When contacted by The Weekly Times, South Gippsland Mayor Nathan Hersey said that while seven of the shire’s nine councils had voted to release the draft local laws last week, it was the council officers and a consultant who had drafted them.

South Gippsland Shire Council Mayor Nathan Hersey says the local law was poorly drafted, but still voted on it being released.

“It’s poorly worded local law that’s intended to deal with fire safety measures, not intended for agriculture,” Mr Hersey said. “It’s a draft.”

Asked why council had not redrafted the poorly worded clauses, prior to voting on releasing the draft local laws last week, Mr Hersey said council was on a timeline that required them to have the new laws in place by April next year.

The draft local laws, which can be found HERE, are out for public comment until Thursday November 9.