"We understand Auckland Council wants a policy across the whole region once existing contracts expire in a year or two. We want the policy already developed for the legacy Auckland City Council. It's been effective for 14 years and there's no need to re-invent the wheel."
"I don't want to do this work all over again. A huge amount of council time was taken up with complaints and petitions until they developed the policy we now have. We had years of communities expressing concern from the late 1980s."
Ms Watts recalls organising a petition outside a Grey Lynn supermarket one Saturday morning and, in two hours, receiving 5000 signatures against the use of glyphosate.
"There were huge fights in Rodney and Waitakere but their councils were reluctant to change."
She says glyphosate has been linked to health problems ranging from headaches, nausea and skin problems to forms of cancer - non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and leukaemia.
The former Auckland City Council policy of non-chemical use applies only to roadsides. The policy includes a "minimisation and reduction" approach to the use of herbicides in parks and reserves, meaning weeds can be sprayed on a short-term basis until problems are solved.
Weed Management Advisory is focusing on roadside weed management. It says it's the route by which most people are exposed to herbicides and a direct entry point into the aquatic environment through stormwater drains.
Two years ago the former Auckland Regional Council commissioned the National Institute of Water and Atmosphere (Niwa) to carry out a report on chemicals of emerging concern. The monitoring of marine environments found glyphosate in all harbours, creeks and estuaries in the Auckland area.
"It's a concern because it's washing into the environment. It promotes growth in some micro-organisms and inhibits growth in others. It destabilises the marine eco-system and can lead to algal blooms.
"These problems will come back again and we'll have to go through the same process. It will cost a huge amount of time, money and people's efforts.
"The world is moving away from this kind of pesticide use and for Auckland to go back would be a huge shame."
Ms Watts says Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Jan Wright said in 2009 that she hoped any weed control methods adopted by Auckland Council would make "good environmental management a priority".
Federated Farmers has always been a strong voice against banning glyphosate, right from the last round of submissions. It still opposes any chemical-free policy, roadside or otherwise.
Senior policy advisor Richard Gardner says weed management needs to be carried out in the most efficient and effective way possible - and that means using glyphosate. He says 90 per cent of Auckland Council is rural, and ratepayer funds shouldn't be spent on anything else.
"Glyphosate is one of the safest weedkillers available. It can be purchased for home garden use from supermarkets, people carry it home with their groceries. It does not bio-accumulate in soil and breaks down quickly."
He says roadside spraying is regulated by Auckland Council's Air Land and Water Plan and contractors need to be qualified.
But Dr Watts says the coconut oil, pine oil and hot water/steam alternatives now used in central Auckland and the North Shore are effective and affordable. She says Weed Management Advisory made submissions during the development of local boards and the draft Auckland plan, yet hasn't received a mention.
The group was expecting to have a hearing in front of a panel of councillors but were told at the eleventh hour they could only attend a "forum" discussion instead.
"We're not being given the opportunity to be heard.
"We're being fobbed off with a forum and denied our democratic right.
"Only one councillor will get to hear what we're saying and we'll be competing with other subjects like dogs and god knows what else."
Auckland Council says hearings are being held in a variety of formats to allow for all those who wish to be heard, including "forum-style".
A spokesperson says forums, where submitters sit at tables with a councillor and give theirsubmission, were recently introduced and well received by the public.
"They enable councillors to get a clearer understanding of the breadth of feedback on issues and allow for more informed decision-making."
But Dr Watts says all councillors need to hear what the advisory board had to say.
"We're very upset. It's an issue that affects every citizen in Auckland and people won't be aware until it's too late."
* The Aucklander sent a list of questions to Auckland Transport, which is responsible for roadside spraying, on the subject. Auckland Transport did not answer those questions before deadline.
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