Goya Dmytryshchak
Maribyrnong council has unanimously voted to become the first Australian council to grow medicinal cannabis to reduce household rates.
Mayor Michael Clarke told last week’s council meeting that the venture was being undertaken in the context of a community that was financially hurting, compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We recognise that rates are a burden on our community and we’ve heard the call from the community to reduce rates,” he said.
“Have no illusions, councillors, to cut rates we either reduce services or find an alternate funding stream as an alternative to rates.
“We’ve had to look outside of the square, councillors, and the fact is what we’re going to do here is looking outside of the square if we are going to reduce our reliance on rates to fund our services.
“The council will cultivate, produce and manufacture medicinal cannabis within the municipality.
“The medicinal cannabis industry is a multi-billion-dollar industry,” Cr Clarke said.
“Pre COVID 2019, the industry was worth $177 million in Australia.
“2025, the expectation was $1.5 billion.
“More recent assessments of that market in Australia is now tipped at $5 billion by 2025.”
Cr Clarke said cannabis would help rebuild Australia’s manufacturing base.
“I think in undertaking this particular enterprise, undertaking this venture, councillors, it’s part, in a very small way, of this council demonstrating it’s perhaps time to rebuild Australia, rebuild its manufacturing base, not be so reliant on the extractive industries of coal and the other mineral deposits that we are so readily happy to extract from our earth and export to other nations.”
Medicinal cannabis products are prescribed by doctors to treat symptoms of a medical condition or the side effects of a medical treatment.
The community will be consulted before plans proceed.
