The year of 2020 was a shocking year for many reasons, from the bushfires to a global pandemic. But there were some positives too, especially for land tax reform. Here are some of the developments that should give us some cautious optimism for the years ahead. NSW’s...
Melbourne City Council is wringing its hands again over developer land vagrancy – prime sites deliberately held vacant or with disused, dangerous buildings to assist developer lobbying of government for rezoning or advantageous building permits. The issue last hit the...
The Andrews government is capping local governments rate rises to CPI after fifteen years of six per cent rises in a low inflation environment. Minister for Local Government Natalie Hutchins’ Fair Go Rates System, administered by the Essential Services Commission,...
By Bryan Kavanagh and David Collyer This week’s game-changer, the Property Taxes paper by Grattan Institute has a minor error on land valuation that needs correcting before it becomes a gift to the opponents of reform. Grattan is acutely aware that on this topic...
Midnight Wednesday, the Queensland Parliament amended the Local Government Act and the City of Brisbane Act to legalise the theft of around $2.3 billion in differential rates charged by 20 councils on non-resident owners over the last twenty years. The...
Sometimes, through the smoke and fireworks of the national debate a political commentator sees the path forward and points the way. Today in the Australian Financial Review, Alan Mitchell takes a far-sighted approach to the crisis provoked by the Abbott government in...
17 October 2012 The survey of Victorian local government candidates conducted by Prosper Australia ahead of the 26 October election reveals few candidates understand where and how councils are funded. “We learned only a handful appreciate Site Value Rating is a...
. . . ... Madam Speaker, if the Government is to balance the Budget in these difficult times, it cannot afford to indulge in forms of taxation that shrink the economy from which all public revenue is drawn. In some allegedly “conservative” circles, it has...
Hobsons Bay Council is considering charging residents by the kilogram for garbage removal. While markets have their place, putting a price on rubbish will have many unintended consequences, few of them pleasant. The anti-social will cost-shift, stuffing their garbage...
Major transport projects costing billions are being proposed for Sydney and Melbourne to shrink these sprawling cities. NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell’s plans to ‘fix’ Parramatta Road by ripping it up and installing the M3 in a cut-and-cover tunnel. The poor state of...