Qld floods: Lord Mayor calls for rethink on Brisbane land valuations

Brisbane’s Lord Mayor has again called for land valuations to be reviewed, saying flood victims shouldn’t have to be weighed down by “bureaucratic red tape” in making formal objections.

Only a small number of the thousands of property owners impacted by the devastating South East Queensland floods have so far lodged objections to their latest land valuations.

It comes as Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner makes a renewed plea for the valuations to be reviewed, saying flood victims shouldn’t have to be weighed down by bureaucratic red tape.

The Resources Department has confirmed that as of last Tuesday, roughly 300 land valuations objections had been recorded – with only about 100 mentioning flooding.

Asked if he was concerned that so few objections had so far been made, a spokesman for Resources Minister Scott Stewart said the minister continued to urge impacted landowners to contact the Valuer-General if they wanted to discuss a revaluation.

The State Government confirmed earlier this month that the Valuer-General would consider appeals to land valuations beyond the standard 60-day period.

Cr Schrinner reiterated his calls for the land valuations, which were done prior to the February-March floods, to be reviewed – describing them as “outdated”.

“Flood victims shouldn’t be weighed down with confusing fact sheets and bureaucratic red tape at a time when they are just trying to rebuild their lives,” Cr Schrinner said.

An aerial image of flood-affected East Brisbane in March. Picture: Nearmap

“My message to the state government is simple: give flood victims a break.

“Go back to the drawing board and review your outdated land valuations, just as you did in 2011.”

The Lord Mayor has raised concerns that the new values could mean some flood-impacted landowners face having to pay land tax for the first time – despite the land values being assessed prior to the floods.

The new valuations took into account historical flooding, with Mr Stewart previously urging those who were flooded for the first time to come forward to the Valuer-General.

A spokeswoman for the Valuer-General said landowners had six months from when their land was “permanently damaged” to write to the Valuer-General to request a change in valuation.

“Land owners receiving a land valuation notice are already able to object, or seek change, to their land valuations where they have experienced permanent damage,” she said.

“As the online information explains, an example of permanent damage to urban land might be a flooding creek stripping away land or an eroded creek bank changing a boundary and affecting the development potential of a block.”

The Queensland Reconstruction Authority indicated earlier this month that about 7800 homes were flood-impacted during the event, including an estimated 4000 deemed uninhabitable.