Phone: (03) 5135 4444
May, 2024
Homecoming for local engineer Philip HOPKINS
RICKY RI I KY Y Dent can an’t n stop smiling. He’s an n envi vironmental i engineer who travels the world in his job, and an n now he’s back in his old South Gippslan and n stam ampm ing ground doing what he loves: building an n advan anced n engineeri ring i plan ant, n at Radial all Timber in Yar arr rram, r that is forging new hori riz izons z in envi vironmental i all man anagement n an and n sustai ainability i ty. y Rii ky Ricky y is an n envi vironmental i all technology gy y specialist with wii Earth Systems, a Port Melbourne-based compan any n that is in a joint venture with wii a South Gippsland bioenergy gy y compan any, n Spiegel Energy gy, y and an n Radial all to build a continuous pyr yrolysis r biochar arr plan ant. n “I’m ori riginally i from Yan anakie, n went to
Fish Creek Pri rimar i ary ry School and an n Foster High School, then to the city to study environmental science at Monash University ty,” y he told Gippsland Farmer. “I entered the workf kforce f an and n have been designing these machines for the last seven year ars r now. I travel around arr world, installing, commissioning, constantly improvi ving i the technology gy. y I’m now back in South Gippy, at Yar arr rram ram; m I used to play footy ty y at the oval all across the road. “It’s real ally l good. Yar arr rram r is one of the first places to have a real all go at an n instal all lation like this. Coming back to my roots, when the opport rtunity t ty y to come here cam ame m up, I was the first to put my han and n up.” STORY - PAGE 11
Calls for security in dingo policy THE Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) is calling for a number of key government commitments to ensure farmers have confidence and certainty following last month’s shock announcement to lift the unprotection order for dingoes in northwest Victoria. The wild dog component of the current Fox and Wild Dog Bounty Program will also not continue in the north-west, although there are no changes to the fox bounty in the region. VFF President, Emma Germano in a recent meeting, warned the Victorian Minister for Agriculture, Ros Spence, about the dire situation facing some farmers, and outlined a number of recommendations to avoid a repeat of the current situation. “We warned that lifting the unprotection order for dingoes in the north-west would result in livestock maulings and deaths
and sadly that’s exactly what’s happened,” she said. “The blindsided nature of this announcement left farmers and communities completely unprepared and that’s simply not good enough." Victoria's Wildlife Act (1975) Order In Council 'unprotects' the dingo on private land, and on public land within three kilometres of the private boundaries to public lands, enabling baiting and trapping. The government said the new measures protect a vulnerable population of dingoes, while farmers will be supported by a $550,000 investment for alternate non-lethal control measures, such as exclusion fencing and guardian animals. The Gippsland livestock industry is watching, despite the fact that dingo control measures remain unchanged in eastern Victoria. The review into the government's wild dog management policies will be finalised in the next six months and will
consider the new research alongside the impact on livestock. The chair of the National Wild Dog Management Coordination Committee, Geoff Power, warned that removing the dingo unprotection order in the north-west could be the first step in undermining the state's $4.5 billion sheep and wool industry. The dingo unprotection order is in place in eastern Victoria until October 1, 2024. The National Wild Dog Management Plan Coordinator, Greg Mifsud, said the dingo unprotection order provided a balance between wild dog control and dingo conservation. He has warned that the order only operates in 1.6 million of the 4.7 million ha of public lands in the east and north-west of the state, leaving over 3.1 million ha of public lands, including state forest and national park, where dingoes are free from lethal control. The VFF has urged urged several commitments by the state government:
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Management Advisory Committee to help ensure future decisions are informed directly by the knowledge and experience of livestock producers; To support and fund wild dog management activities that give farmers and communities the suite of tools which are proven to achieve outcomes; To support producers in the north west with relevant information; To provide expeditated decision making and granting of Authority to Control Wildlife permits, and; An expedited review of the government's revocation of the unprotection order. Ms Germano urged local farmers to report all interactions with wild dogs to Agriculture Victoria to place further pressure on the state government to act. Continued - Page 4
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1 “Don’t find fault, find a remedy.” Henry Ford