Roadside Spraying on Waiheke Island

RE roadside spraying on Waiheke - just to clarify things a little from yesterday's meet the candidates session at the War Memorial Hall.

A little bit about my background.

My wife and I set up a small permacultural farm in Wanganui before coming to the Island. At home we mostly eat organic food and have been part of an organic food coop for many years. As the ranger at Whakanewha I had to use chemical weed control where manual control was impossible. This prompted me to make it my business to research chemical weed control to minimise ill effects on the environment and I have used them in the park with the utmost care to safeguard people's health.

Re the question re blanket ban on the use of glyphosate (Roundup) on roadsides. I support the use of Coconut Fatty Acid as a roadside spray on all urban roads, despite the fact that it really stinks! My reservation concerns where the roadside is not within residential areas and forms part of a weed eradication effort. Coconut oil will not eradicate weed species, it only serves to brown them off as an inhibitor. At Whakanewha Glyphosate has been use for the last 15 years with not one complaint of ill effects from the public. We need to be aware of the difference between Roundup and the active ingredient Glyphosate and also the difference between wholesale spraying on roadside and targetted use in a rural environment. I have no wish to place anyone at risk. My extensive research over the years indicates that glyphosate is the lowest toxity chemical available as a herbicide and most allergic reactions are due to the deteregent added as a surfactant.

Coconut oil as a herbicide is several times more expensive to use that Glyphosate and less effective as a control for Kikuyu grass, the main reason for roadside spraying. If we consider the cost to rate payers and the use of vehicles and emissions it is important to consider whether we need to use coconut oil on areas away from houses.

I would not support the spraying of any urban situation with Glyphosate. However, I would wish to be able to continue the use of this hercide in weed control areas with the utmost care and consideration and with whatever public notification is agreed.