Tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV), found in seedlings recently moved from South Australia to a glasshouse at the facility on Numurkah Rd, has led to a full site shutdown and more than 100 workers being indefinitely stood down.
To provide support, the Moira Shire Council established a hub at the Katunga Recreation Centre on Wednesday, January 29.
Katunga Fresh owner Peter Van Den Goor said that it was good his workers had received help, but “there’s no help for us”.
Unfortunately, he said the Victorian Government hasn’t provided a plan or answers to any of his questions.
People who eat infected tomatoes, capsicums and chillies are not at risk, but crop yields can be slashed by up to 70 per cent.
Animal activist charged over footage
An animal activist who broke into a Carag Carag piggery and made secret recordings, including one where a man allegedly had sex with a pig, will now face court herself.
Police said a 31 year-old St Kilda woman had been charged with trespass, failure to comply with biosecurity measures, and installing, using or maintaining an optical surveillance device following an incident at Carag Carag on February 11, 2024.
Farm Transparency Project has confirmed the woman is one of thier investigators.
Spokesperson Harley McDonald-Eckersall said the charges had only recently been laid, almost 12 months after the recordings were taken and given to police.
The woman will appear in Echuca Magistrates’ Court on the charges on March 4.
A 30 year-old Carag Carag man is also facing the courts on a charge of bestiality as a result of video captured by Farm Transparency Project.
A voir dire hearing — which decides on the admissibility of evidence in a case — will be held in front of a magistrate in June.
If the evidence is ruled as admissible, a contested hearing will be held in Bendigo Magistrates’ Court later that month.
Family violence spikes in Moira
New reports have highlighted a rise in family and domestic violence incidents in the Moira Shire.
The Crime Statistics Agency (CSA) recently released data showing that Moira Shire saw 653 family incidents in the year to September 2024.
It is a 3.2 per cent increase from the previous year and a concerning rise of 204 incidents, or 45 per cent increase over the past five years.
Criminal incidents rose by 6.7 per cent from 1690 to 1804, with breaches of family violence orders being the most common offence.
Concerningly, the CSA data reveals that Moira Shire has experienced increases across all crime categories, with alleged offender incidents rising significantly by 16.9 per cent and recorded offences increasing by 15.5 per cent.
The only data which saw a decrease was victim reports, with a 5.2 per cent drop.
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