New kill bill for elm beetles

By Sarah Schwager
CASEY residents will now need to pay out of their own pockets to rid their elm trees of a killer beetle.
Casey Council last week decided to stop paying to rid trees of the elm leaf beetle on private properties, most of which are in Berwick.
Over the past 10 years, the council has arranged for the control of the beetle on private trees at no cost to the residents.
This was part of an initiative to prevent reinfestation of public trees in Casey.
But at last week’s council meeting, the majority of councillors voted to introduce a fee of $25 per tree for the stem injection treatment on private properties.
Cr Rob Wilson said the free program was never meant to be ongoing and could not be maintained.
He said the problem only affected a small area of Casey yet, with the council paying for the treatment, all ratepayers were paying to maintain private trees.
He said the money could be better spent on other services.
Cr Mick Morland said landowners would pay to remove the elm leaf beetle despite other councillors’ concerns.
“If you have a beautiful elm tree on your property, you’re not going to not pay that,” Cr Morland said.
But Cr Paul Richardson said residents should not be charged to beautify Berwick and he suggested the council look at other ways to fund the program.
The stem injection treatment protects the tree for a few years.
If infested by the beetles, elm trees will die within 10 years.