Waste levy set to raise $410m less than forecast over four years

The Palaszczuk Government’s rubbish tax is set to raise almost half a billion dollars less over the next four years than forecast. This is why.

A massive fall in waste being dumped into landfill is set to punch an almost half a billion dollar hole in projected State revenue raised from the Palaszczuk Government’s rubbish tax.

The waste disposal levy is now set to collect about $410 million less in its first four years than what was forecast in last year’s Budget.

It follows a significant 65 per cent drop in the amount of interstate waste being trucked into the Sunshine State during the first year of the levy’s implementation.

Budget papers show the levy was supposed to raise $433 million in 2019-20, but it fell well short – only collecting $295 million, or about 31 per cent less.

The waste disposal levy is now set to raise $410m less than forecast. Picture: iStock

This financial year’s projected revenue haul from the levy is set to reach $305 million, with the levy to be hiked by $5 per ton from January 1 next year.

The total four-year haul between 2019-20 and 2022-23 is now tipped to hit $1.268 billion, down from the $1.678 billion forecast in last year’s Budget.

Environment Minister Meaghan Scanlon said there had been a “significant reduction” in waste going to landfill since the levy began on July 1 last year, as she pointed to the decline in interstate rubbish coming across the border.

“Recycling creates three times more jobs than landfill, so improving resource recovery is good for the economy and the environment,” Ms Scanlon said.

The amount of money raised from the levy is expected to stabilise and then fall over the coming years, with Budget papers saying this is due to “further anticipated behavioural changes in the amount of waste disposed to landfill”.

Queensland Environment Minister Meaghan Scanlon. Picture: Brendan Radke

The levy applies to 39 councils that cover more than 90 per cent of Queensland’s population and generated waste.

Ms Scanlon said money raised from the levy went to a range of projects, such as cracking down on illegal dumping and funding recycling programs.