Review must focus on country council rates

The massive inequity in the rates paid by city and country Victorians must be the focus of the government’s review into Victoria’s local government rating system, says Shadow Treasurer Louise Staley.

Victorians living in regional and rural areas are paying five times more than their city counterparts when comparing the rates charged per dollar in capital improved value (CIV.)

The Liberal Nationals are calling upon the Andrews Labor Government to ensure that the two yet-to-be-appointed members of the review panel are from and have intimate knowledge of regional and rural Victoria.

The pressures country ratepayers and country councils face are entirely different from those that city ratepayers are facing, and this review must take this into account.

Despite Labor’s new review being a belated response to the Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry into the Sustainability and Operational Challenges of Victoria’s Rural and Regional Councils, none of the 68 items in the terms of reference mention rural or regional councils.

Without this focus on regional and rural ratepayers, Daniel Andrews will once again prove he’s the Premier for Melbourne, not the Premier of Victoria.

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