NORTH-EAST BENEFITS UNDER THE NATIONALS’ PLAN

The Nationals have released a Local Government Discussion Paper which will deliver direct benefits to councils and ratepayers in the north-east, according to Member for Benalla, Bill Sykes.

Dr Sykes said the discussion paper was being sent to all local councils for feedback before The Nationals developed a formal policy paper.

One of the key aims of the discussion paper is to address the financial difficulties facing many regional municipalities and the large rate increases which plague local residents.

“Financial sustainability is a key issue for local government in the north-east and The Nationals are looking for new ways to improve the situation”, Dr Sykes said.

“We need to reduce the need for large rate increases by providing councils with another form of income which can be transparently applied and the benefits can be clearly measured in the community.”

Under the Nationals’ proposal, local government will receive 1% of GST revenue which currently flows to Victoria from the Federal Government.

“The Nationals believe that local councils can only increase rates so much before the capacity of residents to pay is severely compromised and we may have already passed that point”, Dr Sykes said.

“In the short term, The Nationals are proposing 1% of GST revenue received by the Victorian Government goes directly to local government, with a longer term aim of increasing the payment to 3%.

“In dollar figures, that would be an additional $80 million this year, increasing to more than $300 million once the 3% figure is applied. That would provide a significant improvement to the bottom line of country councils and alleviate the need for large rate increases.”

Other key elements of The Nationals’ Local Government Discussion Paper include:

• the establishment of a road and bridge improvement fund;

• $20 million over four years to upgrade country halls;

• a requirement that councils must set a lower differential rate for farmers;

• revaluation of properties will be extended to three years, instead of the current two-year period; and

• increased government funding for libraries.

Dr Sykes has welcomed the common sense solutions which are outlined in the discussion paper.

“I believe there’s some very practical initiatives being proposed which will benefit residents and councils as they provide services and upgrade infrastructure in the north-east”, Dr Sykes said.

“Local government provides a crucial role as the tier of government with the most direct contact with the community and it’s time that the importance of that role was fully recognised.

Dr Sykes concluded, “We need to end the cost shifting and the buck passing and ensure that our local councils remain viable and can deliver infrastructure and services into the future”.

Media contact: Bill Sykes (03) 5762 2100 or 0427 624 989