Carole Park business owners say they are paying 30 per cent more in rates than similar properties in Brisbane

Several prominent business owners are calling for Ipswich Mayor Teresa Harding to compensate for exorbitant rate rises that have left them paying more than double what they did a decade ago.

Masterol Foods manager David Liston (left) and Alvey Reels owner Bruce Alvey are among business owners appealing for a rates reprieve from Ipswich Mayor Teresa Harding.

Business owners in the Ipswich industrial hub of Carole Park say they are paying an estimated 30 per cent more in rates compared to their Brisbane counterparts barely a few hundred metres away.

Following on from a rates rise of one per cent for industrial properties in the recent council budget, Ipswich Mayor Teresa Harding has told the battling business owners she cannot reverse what was done under a previous administration, despite recent pleas to wind back rates for those affected.

Among those claiming that Ipswich City Council’s rates for industrial businesses are crippling progress is Alvey Reels owner Bruce Alvey, who says the costs are repelling new business and jobs to Rocklea and Wacol.

Neighbouring businesses including Masterol Foods and Precast Concrete have also been in contact with the Queensland Times this week over the high cost of rates in Carole Park compared to neighbouring Brisbane industrial estates.

Business owners say the issue stems back to the time when former mayor Paul Pisasale was still at the helm.

State Government Land Valuations increased in July 2013 in the Carole Park area because of its proximity to Brisbane.

Ipswich City Council at the time increased rates significantly without any discussions with the property owners affected, according to Mr Alvey.

To give an indication, one of the businesses in Carole Park detailed how much its rates had increased between 2011 and 2016.

The business went from paying a total of $106,892 in 2011, before the rate in the dollar increased 25 per cent each year for four years, bringing the same business’s rates bill to $236,980 in 2016.

Over the course of the past decade, that same company’s bill has increased to $263, 948. Land valuations for the same property have only increased by seven per cent over the same period of time.

Mr Alvey has previously pleaded with Mayor Teresa Harding to discuss the matter urgently and help business owners in Carole Park.

Ms Harding and deputy mayor Nicole Jonic met with landowners from three different businesses in Carole Park on February 18 to listen to their perspective on rates.

They were also invited to address all councillors on March 9 for one hour.

‘We thought it would be important to hear from them, especially as we were in the middle of setting our FY21-22 budget,” Ms Harding said.

“The rate rise for commercial and industrial for FY21-22 is 1%, same as FY20-21, after 0% in FY19-20.”

Mr Alvey said that was of little consolation.

“It is now seven years we have been forced to pay these horrendous rates and while current increases have been stopped, we continue to have to pay these rates in a business climate where we are all trying to keep costs in line,” Mr Alvey said.

Ms Harding said Carole Park’s high land valuations were the source of the problem and while she sympathised with those affected, it would be impossible to discount rates in the area, as it would leave someone else having to pay.

“We acknowledge the rates in Carole Park are too high, and that it is because of the high land valuations in that area,” she said.

“Our commitment is to lower rate rises to try to address the inequities.

“For Ipswich, the range of valuations for industrial property is significant. The level of rates for properties in Carole Park is a factor of their respective valuations.

“Rating comparisons across local governments are difficult to achieve and cross-boundary differences are unfortunately a common occurrence.

“The difference between Carole Park and Wacol can be significant. Where Carole Park has some of the highest valued land in Ipswich, Wacol is among some of lower value land in Brisbane.”

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