With grass in locations such as roundabouts and berms across Sunbury reaching knee-height in places, some residents are taking it upon themselves to do the work of Hume City Council and the State Government.
Meanwhile, a roundabout in Macedon St that was overgrown and becoming a hazard to motorists, was ignored by the council until someone placed a pole sporting the Australian flag on it – presumably to celebrate Australia Day on Friday 26 January.
Within hours of a photo appearing on Facebook, a team arrived late in the afternoon on Australia Day to remove the poll, flag, and cut the grass.
Josh Bull MP took to Facebook this week to thank those who raised the issue of “long grass and overgrown weeds, shrubs, and plants on a number of local roundabouts and road corridors”.
“I am of the view that a more frequent cutting schedule needs to be implemented to ensure that safety and amenity is improved,” he wrote.
“The responsibility of our roads and road corridors including grasslands and shared user paths falls within three different levels of Government.
“Local roads such as residential streets and the like are the responsibility of council, so in our case Hume City Council for most of the electorate – and Melton City Council if you live in Diggers Rest.
“Larger arterial roads such as the recently upgraded Sunbury Rd are the responsibility of State Government, under the Department of Transport and Planning. Federal roads usually connect major cities and towns.”
Mr Bull says he has written to Melissa Horne, the Minister for Roads and Road Safety, asking for a more consistent and frequent [mowing] service.
“In addition to this I have spoken to our Hume City Council mayor [Naim Kurt] and asked that council also review their cutting and maintenance schedule.”
