Dear Supporters,
We wanted to share an update regarding our ongoing efforts to keep Shell Cove safe from chemical weed treatments. Frasers Property Group has provided a response (see attached), and we have replied with the email included below.
Thank you all so much for your continued support — your voices have made it clear that our community expects transparency, safety, and responsible environmental care. Please continue to stay in touch and let us know if you, your family, or your pets experience any negative effects connected to recent weed-control activity. Your reports help us build a stronger case for safer practices.
Below is the response we have provided to Frasers:
Dear Mathew,
Thank you for your investigation and for taking the time to respond. We appreciate Frasers’ engagement with Council and your commitment to reinforcing signage requirements with contractors.
However, we must strongly reiterate the need for clear and consistent public notification — before, during, and after any weed-spraying activity. This is essential for community safety, particularly given the proximity of these treated areas to parks, playgrounds, walking routes, and our sensitive marine environment.
Despite APVMA assessments, many local pet owners continue to report concerning symptoms in their dogs immediately after walking through recently treated areas — including hyper-salivation, seizures, and paw injuries. These incidents raise serious questions about the practical impacts of glyphosate-based products, regardless of regulatory assurances, and they mirror conflicting global findings about environmental and animal health risks.
Our community is deeply protective when it comes to our coast, green spaces, wildlife, and the many children and families who use these areas daily. For this reason, we strongly encourage Frasers to follow the lead of other councils across Australia and to continue to explore safer, alternative weed-management methods.
We also wish to be clear that if negative reactions in pets or observable environmental impacts continue, we will have no choice but to escalate our concerns through broader channels, including local and regional media outlets. Our aim, however, remains to be collaborative and transparent.
Thank you again for your attention to this matter. We hope to see strengthened notification practices and a proactive approach to safer weeding alternatives moving forward.
Kind regards,
Diana Harvey
On behalf of concerned Shell Cove residents