Privet out of control on Coromandel
Privet is taking over in parts of the Waikato and encroaching on the Conservation estate.
Thames-Coromandel District Mayor Sandra Goudie said the hedging plant is reaching plague proportions on the Coromandel Peninsula.
‘‘It is completely out of control,’’ Goudie said.
‘‘It’s now starting to go up the Kauaeranga Valley and has got the potential to get into the Conservation estate and have a serious and detrimental effect.’’
Privet and yellow bristle grass were talking points at Waikato Regional Council’s second day of hearings into its 2018 to 2028 long-term plan at Hauraki District Council offices at Paeroa on Tuesday. Privet invades bush margins and waste areas and tree privet is capable of crowding out canopy trees in native forests and stop native seeds from germinating.
There is a ban on the sale, propagation and distribution of privet.
Hauraki Mayor John Tregidga, Matamata-Piako District Mayor Jan Barnes and Goudie want both plants to be added to the regional council’s list of pest plants for management.
Regional Councillor Stu Kneebone said council can order privet to be removed if it affects the health of residents and they have a medical certificate to prove it.
But Goudie said the problem has gone beyond that. It’s spreading on private land and crossing buffer zones into the Conservation estate.
‘‘It’s that out of control, it needs a much bigger project to start addressing the problem.
‘‘It has just spread everywhere.’’ Privet is widespread, according to the regional council’s website. At least four species of privet are found in New Zealand and can withstand drought, wet and cold conditions.
Its berries are poisonous to animals and humans and the plant may cause respiratory disorders – hayfever and asthma – in some people.
Barnes said her council is receiving a number of complaints from residents.
‘‘It actually affects people’s quality of living and we request this be added to the region’s list of high-risk pests and managed accordingly,’’ Barnes said.
Tregidga said yellow bristle grass is rampant in the Waikato.
Dry matter production on dairy farms can fall by 13 per cent on farms infested with yellow bristle grass – costing farmers more than $1100 per hectare in lost production.
‘‘This is a real concern for our farming community,’’ Tregidga said.
Kneebone said district council lawnmowers are the main carriers of weed grass – spreading seed from one property to the next.
‘‘It’s proven to be a real challenge and a real vector,’’ Kneebone said.