A KERANG borough councillor has defended council’s decision to plant hundreds of trees along a section of the Murray Valley Highway currently under flood water.
Cr Ian Prendergast said he intended to move a motion that council replace those trees lost as as result of the flooding along the highway, on the Swan Hill approach to Kerang.
Cr Prendergast said many trees were grown and even thrived in flood prone areas and it had been unfortunate that these trees had been inundated by a major flood during their first few months of life.
He said he had no doubt that the salt-tolerant trees planted were the right variety for flood-prone areas, however they were not quite tall enough when the flood arrived.
He said once the trees were established, they would aesthetically enhance the town’s entrance.
Cr Hamish Graham said one ratepayer had claimed that the trees were a waste of money, however another had called for even more trees to be planted in the area.
