Cr Daniel Linklater
Mayor, Wentworth Shire Council
FIRSTLY I want to congratulate the Shire’s newest citizens following our Australian Citizenship Day ceremony held this Wednesday. It was a privilege to share this exciting experience with the six conferees from the UK, Bulgaria, Taiwan, South Africa, Philippines and Vietnam as they formally became Aussies and committed to upholding our shared values and the freedoms which we cherish.
Secondly, congratulations to the Wentworth Roo’s A and C Grade netballers – 2025 SFNL Premiers – and also to the B and C Reserve teams who made it to their respective grand finals. A fantastic achievement all round, ladies!
And now, a little council business!
At our September meeting, Wentworth Shire Council resolved to support, in principle, the Murray Darling Association’s urgent call for the Federal Government to fund and implement the National Carp Control Plan and its recommendations, which includes the use of the Cyprinid Herpesvirus 3.
Carp are a destructive and invasive pest, now representing up to 90 per cent of the biomass in our rivers. They cause massive degradation of aquatic plants, riverbanks and riverbeds, and suppress the native fish populations by taking almost all of the available food stocks that would otherwise be available to them. This in turn reduces water quality and contributes to increased incidence of toxic algal blooms.
Whilst this biological control measure would not eradicate carp populations, the modelling suggests it would reduce their numbers by 40 to 60 per cent, enough to tip the balance back in favour of native species and aquatic plants and help restore water quality.
As Cr Armstrong put it succinctly during the debate, “Release the virus, it’s time for hand-wringing bureaucrats in Canberra to do something”. This echo’s the sentiment of Helen Dalton, State Member for Murray, who said recently, “It’s time to release the virus” and, “Carp eradication should be the highest priority to fix the Murray Darling Basin”.
In other business, council also endorsed a notice of motion to commence advocacy for a Heavy Vehicle Bypass, as outlined in the Mildura Rural City Council Integrated Transport and Land Use Strategy. A united voice will be a stronger voice, and whilst there are plenty of short and medium-term road projects requiring attention, I believe it is the role of local government to speak up for medium and longer-term initiatives also.
Our councils can now jointly write to our respective state and federal MPs, State and federal transport or infrastructure ministers and seek funding to develop the business case that will lead to future construction. Wentworth Shire have also had recent meetings with Transport for NSW who are in the process of developing their Far West Strategic Regional Integrated Transport Plan to ensure that this concept is captured within their priorities.
A new bridge upstream of the George Chaffey Bridge and associated bypass around Mildura CBD and Buronga-Gol Gol will alleviate congestion and improve freight transport efficiency, improve emergency services access and boost supply chain resilience. Transport operators estimate that it would cut at least 45 minutes each way off the Adelaide-Sydney route. It will be good for the amenity of our city and towns, improve fatigue management for our truckies, and drive productivity for our nation.
As the growing freight task coincides with our growing population and residential development, so grows the need for a heavy vehicle bypass and the sooner and more collaborative our approach to advocacy for it the better.
Have a great weekend and take some time to enjoy our amazing part of the world.
