I was infuriated yesterday to find out that my local council workers (in Tweed Shire Council) lied to me two weeks ago when I asked what it was they were spraying in my street. 

Much to my delight, they told me it was Slasher, the organic weedkiller. "We want to live too, you know!" - they said in reply.

It was later pointed out to me that the contents of the container were the same colour as RoundUp - blue, and a different colour to Slasher. 

When I saw two men in my street spraying the same blue coloured liquid and asked them if it was RoundUp - they both responded at exactly the same time, with conflicting answers.

The gentleman without the bottle told me it was the organic weedkiller, Slasher. While the gentlemen with the bottle on his back said it was RoundUp - in his defence he replied that he was just using what they had at the depot.

When I asked him if he realised how harmful it is to human health, to bees, and our environment, he genuinely seemed to have no idea. 

What's worse than this toxic pesticide being sprayed outside our homes and in our parks and gardens, is the deception and lies by my local council. 

I called Tweed Shire Council and was put through to someone at the depot who said he agreed entirely with what I was saying about the use of RoundUp but they hadn't yet found a viable alternative and that the more people that ring up and complain, the better. 

Steam weeding is already being used by 36 Councils around Australia, according to Weedtechnics. While the City of North Miami is using chemical free foam to control weeds. 

We need to put pressure on our local councils while we wait for our Federal Government to get its act together. 

I've registered myself on the chemical sensitivity register with my local council so that my home can be registered on the Do Not Spray register and I am asking you to do the same - to let your council know that you do not consent to glyphosate based herbicides or any other toxic pesticides being sprayed anywhere near your home. 

This is something I am asking you to do whether you are chemically sensitive or not, cancer does not discriminate - our bodies are not designed to metabolise glyphosate and councils should not spraying it near our homes without our consent. 

If every single person that has signed this petition put their home on the Do Not Spray register and share this update, and personally ask another household to do the same, that's at least 100,000 homes in Australia that would be registered as no spray areas. 

We need to inundate our local councils with demands that they stop putting lives at risk, killing bee populations and destroying our planet, with toxic pesticides. 

At a time when many of us are feeling help-less - this is something we can all do to be the change. 

Pesticide use is also a leading contributor to climate change (organic soil acts as a carbon sink, drawing carbon down from the atmosphere), so this is also a really practical way you can do something tangible to protect our environment. 

I've just purchased a 'No Spray Zone' signfrom Save the Bees Australia which I'll be placing outside my home.

On a lighter note - thank you so much for the integral you have played in getting this petition into Parliament in 2019 - I am beyond grateful.

Have a safe and restful holiday season and I'll continue to keep you posted on the progress of this petition through Parliament in 2020. 

Zara D'Cotta