Businesses should not have learned about the new bin tax from reports in the Herald Sun, councillor Owen Guest says

A councillor has hit out at Town Hall for a major failure in dealing with businesses that will be affected by new bin taxes.

The council’s Finance, Gov­ernance and Risk portfolio lead Owen Guest with Lord Mayor Nick Reece. Picture: Jason Edwards

A City of Melbourne councillor has criticised Town Hall for not consulting businesses that would be affected by two new bin taxes in the draft budget.

The council’s Finance, Gov­ernance and Risk portfolio lead Owen Guest said the City of Melbourne was not upfront and open with businesses that would be hit by the new taxes.

“We should have been more transparent,” he said.

“These sorts of things should be open to debate and review.”

The City of Melbourne should have been more transparent on the new bin tax, councillor Owen Guest says. Picture: Ian Currie

The draft budget included a new permit fee of up to $401 for city businesses – such as cafes, restaurants and retailers – to be allowed to put a commercial bin out for collection and a $5500 permit fee for each waste or recycling truck to operate in the City of Melbourne.

The two new fees and lack of consultation were slammed by business groups.

Mr Guest said businesses impacted by these new charges – from the waste industry to cafes and retailers – should not have learned about them from reports in the Herald Sun.

“We should be road testing these things first with businesses that may be impacted by them,” he said.

“We need to know how many businesses it will affect and what are the true benefits of it … There was a lack of consultation and we should have done better.”

Mr Guest said the council should have focused on cutting its expenditure rather than creating two new bin taxes.

“There is an often-repeated mantra I hear within the City of Melbourne that we need to develop new revenue streams – I hear this way too often.

“I don’t hear it accompanied by making genuine savings and truly getting back to basics.

“Let’s stop looking for new revenue streams at a time when businesses and individuals are financially stressed.”

The new bin taxes come despite Lord Mayor Nick Reece promising during last year’s election campaign he would be “keeping taxes as low as possible” and “reducing red tape and supporting businesses”.

Lord Mayor Nick Reece promised to keep taxes as low as possible. Picture: Jason Edwards

Committee for Melbourne chief executive Scott Veenker said the council should “go back to the drawing board” and consult with affected businesses to revise the taxes.

“For policy changes of this nature – particularly those that have a direct financial impact on businesses – genuine consultation is not just good practice, it’s essential,” he said.

“The waste and hospitality sectors, along with countless small businesses operating in the CBD, deserve to be brought to the table early in any policy process. Learning about significant changes through media reports or budget documents undermines trust between council and (business).

“The right approach now is to go back to the drawing board – bring industry stakeholders into the conversation and develop a solution that balances the city’s waste management goals with the operational realities of Melbourne businesses.”

Councillors will vote on whether to approve or make changes to the draft budget at a meeting on June 30.

Originally published as Businesses should not have learned about the new bin tax from reports in the Herald Sun, councillor Owen Guest says