“The Blackwood Basin Group —along with all the other Landcare groups in the region — will no longer receive funding from SWCC to deliver projects, under this restructure,” said program manager Greg Hales. The BBG is focussing on the community’s priorities, following on from the restructure, which will see all federal Landcare funding for the entire South West region directed to the Bunbury-based group, Mr Hales said.

“The Australian Government’s priorities under the Caring for Our Country program (the current Landcare program) are not the priorities of the Blackwood Basin Groups or our partners in our local community,” Mr Hales said.

“The very reason the Blackwood Basin Group exists is due to concerns about the Blackwood River. That’s what brought 250 people together from Dumbleyung to Augusta in 1990, which led to the formation of the group.

“The Government is totally ignoring what we in the South West of WA consider important,” he said.

“The BBG is the real community group – the one created by the community to represent the community.

“SWCC is a government-imposed committee and therefore it cannot truly represent the community.

“Support from the community is what’s needed.

“We live with the environmental problems of our area, and have learnt the solutions, why would we want to lose this knowledge within our community?”

Mr Hales said that the BBG would therefore be working with the Black-wood community and finding other funding sources to deliver priorities on the ground. “That’s what we call Landcare that works,” Mr Hales said.