Greater Shepparton City Council has reminded residents that the current Goulburn Murray Valley Fruit Fly Program is unable to provide funding or support for fruit tree removal from private properties.
Greater Shepparton City Council secured $469,000 in Victorian Government funding last year to continue the Goulburn Murray Valley (GMV) Fruit Fly Program for the 2025-2026 financial year. However, this allocation is not sufficient to cover the cost of tree removals. As a result, this component has been removed from the broader Fruit Fly Program.
Since the funding announcement last year, Council has received a surge of requests from residents seeking to remove fruit trees as part of their efforts to manage fruit fly on their urban properties. While Council has acknowledged and appreciates this proactive community response, the program’s limited funding must be directed to other high‑priority activities.
Mayor of Greater Shepparton Shane Sali said the strong interest from residents highlights the need for this service to continue. He added that the Council will be advising the Victorian Government of the value of the tree-removal program in the broader response against Queensland Fruit Fly.
“We appreciate the community’s commitment to managing fruit fly and its willingness to remove unwanted fruit trees,” he said. “However, based on expert advice and the challenges we are facing this season, funding has been directed to other essential activities, such as establishing a stronger field presence, supporting volunteers and delivering education programs throughout the Goulburn Murray Valley.
“We will continue our advocacy efforts to the Victorian Government to ensure it understands the strong impact this tree-removal program can have in managing Queensland Fruit Fly in our urban areas.”
Good for industry
Applications for tree removals are often received from the elderly and physically challenged who are unable to manage their backyard fruit trees. President of the Cobram and District Fruit Growers Association, Adrian Conti, reinforced the value of the initiative.
“The fruit-tree-removal program is very important to us as fruit growers. We hope that funding in future years will enable the continuation of urban tree removals. We are very grateful for the community’s interest in supporting the fruit industry,” he said.
Council said it will continue to advocate for the reinstatement of a funded tree-removal program, given the community demand and its potential benefits for fruit fly management.
Tips
To manage Queensland Fruit Fly in the community, residents are encouraged to:
* Actively manage their fruit and vegetables if they live near identified fruit fly ‘hot spots’;
* inspect produce for sting marks, strip plants of infested produce and dispose of it by solarisation;
* purchase fruit fly netting to prevent fruit fly stinging their produce;
* remove any unwanted/unmanaged fruit fly habitat from their land; and
* pick produce early rather than late, and prune fruit trees to a manageable size so fruit is not left high in the canopy.
For further advice and support, visit fruitflycontrol.com.au.