Victorian ratepayers’ $500m landfill levy remains unspent

MORE than half a billion dollars coughed up by Victorians to tackle the state’s growing waste woes has sat unspent in government coffers.

MORE than half a billion dollars coughed up by Victorians to tackle the state’s growing waste woes has sat unspent in government coffers.

The landfill levy has slugged ratepayers about $1.7 billion since 2005, with the money supposed to be spent on promoting recycling and reducing greenhouse gases.

An Auditor-General’s report, released today, found that a trust fed by the levy ballooned from $29 million in 2009-10 to $562 million by December 31 last year. The balance is expected to have been about $513 million by June 30.

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The landfill levy has slugged ratepayers $1.7 billion in 13 years.

The Auditor-General’s report found that just under half of the money transferred into the fund in the past decade had been paid out.

It warned that Victorians may start to question why they were paying the levy.

“If the situation persists, where significant fund balances remain un­spent over extended periods, the public may by extension, reasonably question the quantum of the charge on every tonne of waste that goes to landfill,” the report said.

Victorians, through local councils, are hit with a $63.28 fee for every tonne of waste that goes to landfill.

Councils in Melbourne’s southeast have slammed the arrangement, which they say saw much more money paid out than was returned in funding for waste initiatives.

Auditor-General Andrew Greaves’ report said the unspent money was an “opportunity cost”.

It also flagged a conflict of interest in which the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning managed the trust and was also its main recipient.

Victoria is facing a growing waste crisis after China banned imported recycling material.

Melbourne councils have slammed the levy.

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The government has ramped up spending from the fund, having paid out $100 million in the past four years.

Environment Minister Lily D’Ambrosio said the levy funded the Environment Protection Authority, Parks Victoria and other “vital” agencies.

“This levy discourages waste from ending up in landfill and creates an incentive for the reuse of materials,” she said.

The Greens’ waste spokeswoman, Huong Truong, said while the government was good at collecting the levy, it had failed to invest the money.

“Half a billion dollars would go a long way in this space, and the Andrews Government has serious questions to answer as to why this money is sitting idle in state coffers,” she said.

“We need complete transparency with how these funds are allocated.”

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@moniquehore