Beginnings
Prosper Australia grew out of a campaign for social reform at the beginning of the 20th century. The idea of taxing land instead of income from labour enjoyed widespread support during the progressive era (1890-1920), due to the widespread popularity of a book called Progress & Poverty, by Henry George.
Both the conservative and Labor Parties had land value taxation in their policy platforms. We were part of a wider movement for a more equitable society and dynamic economy.
Initially, our organisation was known as the Single Tax League of Victoria and was founded in 1890. That same year, Henry George toured Australia with his Australian wife Annie, on what he called their belated honeymoon.
Over three months, the Georges visited 34 cities and towns where Henry George lectured on the single tax, free trade, and the duty of the Christian churches to help eradicate poverty through social and political reform. George’s speeches were well attended and received largely positive reviews in the local and national press.
In the year following the tour, the annual Henry George Commemorative Address was commenced to honour his birthday and continue to promote his ideas. This dinner continues to this day and is a much-loved event on the Prosper calendar.
A crowd of people in front of the Single Tax van in Melbourne c1895.
Progress Magazine
On May 1st 1893, “The Beacon” was established as a monthly publication under the editorial guidance of F.T.Hodgkiss. The Beacon continued until 1900, when it went into a hiatus.
In 1902, under the editorial guidance of F.T. Hodgkiss, Progress magazine was born. Initially a broadsheet newspaper, Progress reached distribution heights of 20,000 copies an issue. Other editors have included A.R. Hutchinson (1943-1986); G.A. Forster (1980s-1990s); Karl Williams (1990s-2015); Andy Moore; Karl Fitzgerald; Richard Meredith. Progress is currently edited by Rayna Fahey.
While our organisation has changed names a number of times, Progress has continued to be published in this name, with issues now numbering in the thousands.
The Henry George Foundation of Australia
During the dislocation of the depression and war years, support tapered off. However, a dedicated cadre remained enthused. A band of businessmen, including Walter Burley Griffin clubbed together in 1920 and bought a property so the organisation would have a permanent home in Melbourne. A generous benefactor, Dr Edgar Culley, helped to found the Henry George Foundation of Australia on the 25th of May 1928.
William Henry Renwick of Victoria served as President of the Foundation, with Vice-Presidents from every major Australian region with a Georgist organisation including: Frederick William Hagelthorn (Victoria), John Robert Firth (New South Wales), Alfred Chappel (South Australia), William Henry Bell (West Australia), Herbert Freemonth Hardacre (Queensland), and William Ernest Lloyd (Tasmania).
The HGFA continues today and is the major funding source for Georgist organisations in Australia.
Political success
Victoria was the first state to bring land tax to its parliament in 1875. The Bill was rejected, but it did provide the benchmark for later moves as it was brought into the Federal Parliament in 1910. The purpose of this legislation was to break up the large land estates, and it was successful in these aims. This legislation lasted until 1952, when it was deemed a state matter.
In Victoria, to make the change from Net Annual Value to our preferred Site Value Rating in 1920, a ratepayer poll was conducted, which showed site value rating was just and equitable and that most people would benefit from the change. Councils gradually submitted to the demand of ratepayers through the 1920s-80s.
Disappointment
In the 1970s, Victoria introduced a charge of $1 to view a municipal valuation. It had previously been free (and more transparent). This was an issue for ratepayers and a setback for organisations that compiled government statistics, such as Prosper. Our figures showed conclusively that ordinary people and businesses were better off with Site Value Rating. Further challenges were introduced with the Capital Improved Value rating system, hidden in the Kennett-era amalgamation of councils (1995). Ratepayers who had used the democratic process to move the rate base to Site Value or land value only were now rated on the combined value of land and improvements.
Canberra and Leasehold
Realising that the announcement of the location of the new national capital (Canberra) would prompt a crippling land grab, early 20th-century planners devised a Georgist-inspired leasehold system to prevent this from occurring. Canberra was thereby created without land prices or speculation. Canberra designer Walter Burley Griffin – a founder of The Henry George Club – assisted in drawing up the leasehold system. This stood the test of time until the 1970s, when the Gorton Government all but abolished it by introducing market rentals.
At the time Prosper campaigned for a revamp of the leasehold system, suggesting the real problem was not the leasehold system itself but that the 20-year intervals between valuations were too lengthy, and valuations were unrealistically low as a result. In 2012, a new local government rating system was introduced, building on the knowledge and experience of the past.
Prosper continues to publish research highlighting the advantages of the Canberra system and demonstrating the economic potential to other states should they follow suit.
Prosper Australia Today
The loss of the federal land tax in 1952, changes to the leasehold system in Canberra, and the loss of Site Value Rating in Victoria were part of continual attacks upon the world’s longest-serving land tax system. Even in the site value rating states of Queensland and New South Wales, the introduction of ‘minimum rates’ has distorted the rating system such that owners of lesser-valued land effectively subsidise owners of more valuable sites.
A change of strategy and name ensued, and Prosper Australia has developed into the modern research and advocacy organisation that it is today. Regular analysis, such as the Speculative Vacancies report, Prosper’s investigations into reforms in the ACT, and our periodic work assessing monopoly rents, continue to help shine a light on a more rational, fairer economic system. Today, the popularity of tax havens, Australia’s repetitive land bubbles, the compliance costs heaped on business, and the steep taxes on labour mean our views are being considered with fresh eyes.
While technology has transformed our nation and our political and economic systems have become much more sophisticated, some values have stood the test of time. Henry George’s idea that everyone has a right to a share in the value of society’s progress is one such idea. In this age of growing inequality and a rapidly destabilising climate, there’s a lot of work left to do.