The Ravensthorpe Shire Council is also looking at raising $240,000 for a 60km section of the fence in that shire.

At a council committee meeting on Tuesday, Department of Agriculture and Food Biosecurity Manager Barry Davies said the State Government had provided funds in the 2010/11 Budget to procure most of the fence supplies.

But it was up to local communities to erect it and he was hoping the fence would be built by June 2014.

Mr Davies and Northern Mallee Declared Species Group chairman Scott Pickering met with representatives from the Goldfields Land and Sea Council this week as part of the planning approvals process.

They have also started negotiations with several government agencies to acquire land for the fence, which Mr Davies said would be vested with the Department of Agriculture and Food.

Mr Davies said the cost of constructing the fence, based on previous projects along the State Barrier Fence was about $4000 per kilometre.

He said the fence would mainly be on crown land and its construction could be project-managed by the department.

Mr Pickering said it would be the biggest construction program in agriculture in Esperance since most farm land was developed during the 1960s.

Several fundraising suggestions were raised at the meeting, including a levy to be paid by farmers, a specified area rate or a loan.

But Esperance Shire President Ian Mickel said a levy would need legislative approval from the State Government and suggested either a specified area rate or a loan would be the way to go.

He said construction of the fence could be broken up into several sections and tenders let for them.

Cr Mickel said a community consultation process would need to be held to gauge local feedback to the plan later this year.

“We need to get some general consensus about how we are going to do it and I am confident we can make it work,” he said.

Council is expected to make a final decision by March 2011 for consideration in its 2011/12 Budget.

Mr Davies said funding was only for the capital cost of construction the fence with ongoing maintenance to be funded by the agriculture industry, similar to the levy paid for skeleton weed control.