Today host Karl Stefanovic furious as new bin tax proposed
The morning television host has thrown his weight behind a campaign to stop the new tax, which he said would only make the cost of living crisis hit harder.
Karl Stefanovic has slammed a Melbourne council over a proposed tax that he argues would intensify cost of living pressures for the city’s struggling residents.
Yarra City Council has stirred up controversy with a proposal to add an additional $115 tax on its waste service.
Councillor Stephen Jolly and a crowd of constituents gathered outside the Richmond Town Hall on Tuesday to air their opinions on the tax, which will go to a vote at this evening’s council meeting.
During their interview, Stefanovic shared his own frustration with the tax.
“Do you know what it smacks of?” he demanded.
“[It’s] complete and utter financial mismanagement.”
Mr Jolly called the move a “cash grab” while families and small businesses are already struggling to keep up with the soaring cost of living.
“It‘s sort of like a sneaky attempt to get around rate capping,” he said.
“They are expecting to gouge tens of millions of dollars from locals through the bin tax.”
The news is further soured by the reports the Council’s expenditure on senior management go up exponentially over the last decade.
Mr Jolly is appealing for councillors to do “the right thing” and “bin the tax”.
“Originally, they wanted to have this vote on the bin tax tonight without telling the locals,” Mr Jolly claimed.
“If you look behind me, they are treating the locals like the enemy. They are at war with locals.
“What they should be doing is listening to locals. Let’s work together to solve the financial crisis.”
The city’s nine councillors will convene on Tuesday night to vote on whether they will move forward with the tax.
“Give my love to everyone behind you. Fight the fight,” Stefanovic told Mr Jolly.
Tuesday’s bin tax vote isn’t the first time the council’s finances have made national news.
Yarra City Council was at the centre of public scrutiny in 2021 when they spent $22,000 on a 183cm tall banana sculpture.
It was later removed when a vandal tried to decapitate it with a hacksaw.