The Mayors of Gympie and Noosa councils are set to lobby the Queensland Government for a review of the state’s rating system.
Gympie Regional Council Mayor, Glen Hartwig and Noosa Council Mayor, Clare Stewart say ratepayers are suffering under the current system, at a time when the region is recording dramatic land value increases.
“There appears to be little common sense to conducting land valuations two years in a row, at the peak of a cycle,” said Mayor Hartwig.
“The Gympie region was revalued last year and to have the inflated impact of the property cycle thrust on council again, with no apparent logic, causes unnecessary distress for residents.
“The rate payers, and our wider resident base, have been through enough with three floods, COVID and a range of other challenges over the last couple of years. It is council’s job to ensure rate increases are kept to a minimum at a time where there is already so much financial pressure,” he said.
Noosa Mayor, Clare Stewart has requested a meeting with the state’s Resources Minister, Scott Stewart, to call for changes.
In Queensland, under the Local Government Act, councils calculate rates as a percentage of land values, as assessed by the state’s valuer, the Valuer-General.
“It’s not just owners of properties in the more expensive areas facing increases, it’s homeowners right across both Mayor Hartwig’s and my region who have seen their land valuations jump by more than 50%,” said Mayor Stewart.
“I agree with Mayor Hartwig that at a time where there is a considerable amount of angst in our communities around affordability, I see the position the state have taken on land valuations in our region as excessive.
“I am hoping that by providing a united front, Mayor Hartwig and I will be able to advocate favorably to the state, on behalf of our respective residents,” she said.
