Land valuations: Lockyer left out again in 2021

25 local government areas will receive new land valuations in 2021, including Somerset, but the Lockyer Valley has again been left out

Lockyer Valley Regional Council Chambers, Gatton. Picture: Dominic Elsome

LANDOWNERS in 25 Queensland local government areas will receive new land valuations in March 2021, however the Lockyer Valley region is not one of them.

The announcement from the state resources department follows consultation with councils as well as local and industry stakeholder groups across Queensland, yet the Lockyer Valley council is not included in the Queensland Valuer-General's list.

In 2019, the Lockyer Valley Regional Council was forced to completely overhaul its rates model to ensure changes to rates were fair, after some land owners were slugged with valuation increases as large as 400 per cent.

Read more: 'Not acceptable': Outrage over valuation refusal

As a result of the community's anger, council told the valuer-general's office that a yearly review of land valuations was necessary due to the rapid development across the Lockyer Valley region.

It also noted the "large variances" in the previous valuation could have been reduced had more regular valuations taken place.

In response to the state government's announcement this week, a Lockyer Valley Regional Council spokeswoman told the Gatton Star (the)"council believes regular valuations provide certainty to our community and will continue to work with the Queensland Government to help them appreciate the positive impact this has on our region".

The 25 local government areas to receive new land valuations in 2021 are Balonne, Banana, Barcaldine, Barcoo, Blackall-Tambo, Bulloo, Burdekin, Central Highlands, Charters Towers, Cook, Diamantina, Gladstone, Gympie, Isaac, Longreach, Maranoa, Murweh, Paroo, Quilpie, Somerset, Southern Downs, Tablelands, Toowoomba, Western Downs and Whitsunday.

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