Allan government rejects review into local government rates

The state government has rejected a recommendation to review the local government rating systems, aimed at ensuring farmers and rural property owners aren’t being unfairly burdened.

The Victorian government has rejected recommendations for a review into the council rates system aimed at ensuring farmers are not being unfairly burdened.

The parliament’s legislative council economy and infrastructure committee inquiry tabled its report into local government funding and services states in November last year, calling for the review to make sure “no particular category is carrying an unfair burden of the rates levied, with particular reference to farmers, small businesses and rural property owners”.

The government tabled its response to the report on Thursday - eight months later - stating it did not support the recommendation.

It comes after months of frustration from farmers over rates, particularly the Allan Government’s planned $1.6bn emergency services tax that would see farmers shouldering the largest share.

Animal Justice Party MP Georgie Purcell. Picture: NCA Newswire / Nicki Connolly

Committee chair and Animal Justice Party MP Georgie Purcell said regional Victorians were “doing it really tough, and are already slapped with higher rates than people in metro areas”.

“Since the committee finalised their report, Victoria has been hit with a one-in-100-year drought which has only compounded financial struggles for most of us living in the bush,” she said.

“Our recommendation simply requested that the Allan government consider a review of rate capping and its impact on farmers, small businesses and rural land owners. This is not a big ask.”

The local government rating system was last subject to a review in 2019, where the government supported 36 of the 56 recommendations made. Rate capping was part of a separate review in 2021.

Victorian Farmers Federation president Brett Hosking said a review into the ratings system was “long overdue”.

“The way rural and local councils are funded is in dire need of an upgrade. When you compare, for example, a rural council compared to inner city Melbourne, they probably make more money off library fines or parking infringements than what the rural council’s budget is,” he said.

“We need to find a better funding mechanism. We need to think very genuinely about the value of rural communities to the whole of society, and maybe it needs to be a generic cost across the whole state that is apportioned to councils, so that it’s not just (funding from) the people in the local area.”

The Weekly Times asked Local Government Minister Nick Staikos whether he thought any category was being unfairly burdened by the ratings system, why he thought the committee had recommended the review with particular reference to farmers and rural property owners, and how often the ratings system should be reviewed.

A Victorian government spokesperson said before the rate cap was introduced, council rates were increasing by an average of 6 per cent each year, but since, the average cap had been 2.3 per cent.

Bev McArthur. Picture: Brendan Beckett

Gaelle Broad.

Opposition local government spokeswoman Bev McArthur said the previous review didn’t consider any of the pressures farmers face today, and that the system was broken for regional Victorians.

“Councils may ‘have discretion’, but that’s not the point. When the base is unfair, local discretion can only go so far,” she said.

Nationals MP for Northern Victoria Gaelle Broad said reviews that expose and fix any equities should be completed regularly.

“It is six years since the rating system was reviewed, so why not support the recommendation for another look to ensure nobody is being harshly treated?” she said.

Ms Broad said it was the “farmers, small business owners and rural property owners” who carried an unfair burden on its incoming emergency services volunteer levy.

“Perhaps Labor is avoiding a review because it will only shine further light on the cruel inequity of that,” she said.