Enough is Enough - Shocking History of Chemical Herbicide Use Published
How Aucklanders have been duped and placated for years

Weed Management Advisory Media Release – 26 July 2017

Years of unremitting and insidious manoeuvres to deflect and suppress community wishes and deliberately fudge, sidestep and evade implementing adopted policy are exposed in a shocking history of the use of chemicals for weed and vegetation control in Auckland.

The history of chemical use published today by the Weed Management Advisory (WMA) lays bare the motives, actions and inactions of successive cities, councils and their so-called Council Controlled Organisations that have led to what the WMA says is a crisis situation.

The author, WMA’s Hana Blackmore, said that it wasn’t until she began pulling together this history over a year ago, that the evidence began to emerge with alarming clarity.

“Auckland Council, and particularly Auckland Transport, has never had any intention of relinquishing chemical herbicides, policy or no policy” said Blackmore.

“Not only has there been frighteningly little meaningful action towards implementing best practice objectives that would remove chemicals from our streets and parks, but covert decisions have instead increased and entrenched their use.”

The WMA decided to go public with the information, including hitherto unpublished documents from their files, because people needed to see for themselves what has happened.

“Aucklanders need to not only know their history but the truth of how they have been duped and placated with empty consultations and promises whilst the years slip by and yet another patsy plan – like the proposed herbicide reduction working party – diverts us all down yet another cul-de-sac.”

The WMA has made it clear to Auckland Mayor Phil Goff and Councillors when priority copies of the history were mailed to them last week that they need to finally DO something.

“We told them we will no longer sit around waiting for yet another budget round or annual plan or long term plan. As one passionate submitter on the health implications of chemical herbicide use said to the Council’s governing body last September - this is an emergency. “

But in spite of the, then, heartening resolutions of councillors rejecting a timewasting review of the weed management policy and expressing their unanimousconcern about the use of the herbicide, glyphosate, the WMA says that yet another year has passed, and nothing has been done to actually implement the four year old policy.

The WMA says that Auckland Council and Auckland Transport need to stop messing around, focus their collective mind by putting an immediate moratorium in place on all chemical use in public places for weed and vegetation control, and get a strategy underway to transition to nonchemical management - now.

“As the history shows, it has been done twice before with very little problem. There can be no excuse. If current officers and staff do not have the knowledge and experience to carry this out, we do. Give it to us and we will get a working party underway of experienced and willing councillors, contractors, scientists and community members within the month” said Hana Blackmore.

“This IS an emergency. We cannot wait any longer.”

Read History & Timeline here:

https://weedmanagementadvisory.wordpress.com/

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