AGRICULTURE and environment experts fear the closure of Department of Primary Industries offices around the state will leave Moorabool farmers and Landcare groups in the lurch.
Last Wednesday, Agriculture Minister Peter Walsh announced 18 DPI offices, including Kyneton’s, would close, with staff offered voluntary redundancies or relocation to provide a “better overall service”.
Bacchus Marsh’s DPI office in Main Street has about 15 staff .
The Weekly understands four DPI staff and one DSE staff member from Kyneton will be moved to Attwood, near Broadmeadows, and to Epsom, near Bendigo.
Moorabool farmers and environment groups suspect Macedon Ranges residents would rather rely on the Moorabool office, which is geographically closer.
Moorabool Landcare facilitator Max Coster said although DPI requests were not usually determined geographically, the closures would cause frustration for residents.
“People in the Macedon Ranges and even in Moorabool around those fringes will be extremely frustrated that they can’t walk into a local office and talk to someone in person. Many farmers want that face-to-face contact,” he said.
Moorabool Catchment Landcare spokesman Simon Cook said his 65-member group worked closely with the DPI to map weeds, create strategies and apply for grants.
“I think this will affect queues and waiting times,” he said.
But Mr Walsh maintained that Moorabool workers would not face an increased workload in light of the cuts.
“Nearby office workloads will not be affected, as staff roles don’t change as a result of the office consolidation.”
Mr Cook said of greater concern was a spate of DSE redundancies of threatened-species officers in the south-west region.
“We’re volunteers and rely on the expertise of these people. We can apply for funds, but we need these qualified people to guide us.”
A DSE spokesman said the reduction would be met from a combination of natural attrition, a freeze on recruitment, the end of fixed-term contracts across a range of positions and voluntary departure packages.
