Yarriambiack Shire Council will continue to maintain Warracknabeal’s automated weather station for the next three years, despite maintenance costs more than doubling.

There are two weather stations in Yarriambiack – the other is at Hopetoun, and maintained by the Bureau of Meteorology, BOM. 

Cr Corinne Heintz proposed an amended motion at last week’s council meeting with five of six councillors ultimately moving that council’s chief executive: enter into a three-year maintenance agreement with BOM; seek alternative sources of financial support; and provide a report back to council in 12 months’ time outlining the progress of sourcing alternative grants and-or revenue streams.

“The first motion kind of leaves us holding the baby – there’s no end to this,” she said.

Cr Heintz said she amended the original proposal to add a third clause, to ensure revenue streams were actively pursued.

“There are several things we’ve found out regarding the Bureau of Meteorology that they haven’t really explained very well,” she said. 

“The previous service agreement was just under $13,000 and now suddenly it’s going to be just under $28,000 – it just doesn’t make sense.

“We’ve had inflation and we’ve had cost increases, but this is ridiculous. We need some transparency.”

Cr Chris Lehmann voted against the motion.

 

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“I’m not against the idea that we have a weather station, I think it’s important, but we’ve been told we’ve got tough budgets ahead and there’s another $25,000 to $28,000 out of that tough budget,” he said.

“It’s just amazing that we get lumbered with something else from a government department that’s essential to us, to our area, but yet they make local government pay for it. 

“I think it’s a great thing to have, I’m against the principle that we keep paying for things that are not our responsibility.”

Mayor Kylie Zanker said while she did not often speak for or against motions as the chair, in this instance she did.

“Lots of farmers have approached me citing the importance of this weather station and seeking council support,” she said.

“I’m not denying for one moment it’s not a council core business. I just feel that as council, we are the closest to the people in our communities, and they’re actually saying they need help. 

“Many businesses use the weather station for flying – they’ve said that it is real and accurate data, and emergency services like VICSES and fire brigade use that data from our weather station for a localised approach of the emergency response within our area.”

The weather station’s service agreement expired in September 2025; the result of not entering into a new agreement with BOM would have resulted in the station’s decommissioning on December 1.

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