MILDURA Council will push for a correction to the “scandal” of the rates divide between rural and metropolitan municipalities.
The council this week agreed to back Member for Mildura Ali Cupper’s “RateGate” campaign for reform of Victoria’s rating system and ask the Municipal Association of Victoria to lobby for the issue to be addressed.
Councillors were told that substantial geographic, demographic and economic differences existed between councils which determined the community’s capacity to pay and, as a consequence, council’s financial sustainability.
Wednesday night’s monthly council meeting was told the issue of disparity between rural and metropolitan council rates was “probably number one” in the Mildura community and was not acceptable.
Cr Stefano de Pieri said the divide between metropolitan and rural areas was evident to all.
“The fact is that we have a very large municipality that demands dollars and the division of the spoils with the Commonwealth and the state is not fair,” Cr de Pieri said.
“It’s part of the great divide between city and country that is no longer acceptable — it never was and it’s simply not.
“At one point the State Government did recognise there was a difference and made some provision for some extra funding, perhaps not enough, but at least it was a gesture of some significance.”
Cr de Pieri said there was also an inbuilt lack of recognition of the contribution that the regions made to the state.
“I keep saying that we provide you with the water to ski, the water to drink … the wine to drink, the food to eat and the amenities when you want to get out of the city to entertain yourself,” he said.
“We have to fight tooth and nail with every means at our disposal to petition, to publish letters, to lobby our politicians — it’s a scandal and it needs to be rectified.”
Councillors were told that Ms Cupper’s “RateGate” campaign had engaged with the community to push for the Victorian Government to introduce permanent, structural reform to address the disparity between the cost of regional and metropolitan council rates.
It followed the Statewide Rating Review outcomes, which provided an opportunity for structural reform of the current system, but substantial reform to equalise rating did not eventuate in the recommendations of the report.
Cr Helen Healy said the rates disparity was the “one polarising issue” that brought commentary from the community “at every turn”.
“Every time it’s mentioned, whether it’s an election campaign or anything to do with this issue, rates are probably number one — how much we pay compared to our city counterparts,” she said.
“We have a responsibility because we are here because of our constituents.”
However, Cr Glenn Milne said an earlier motion passed by council to seek support from the MAV to address the rates issue was enough at this stage.
“We’ve used the right motion in going to the MAV and the other councils first … we should be sitting back waiting to see what the response is from the other councils,” he said.
“We’re asking for the support of all our fellow councils (to) go in there with a bit of force and try to make a real difference.
“That is going to have far more impact on the government than our local member just saying ‘well, Mildura, support our RateGate campaign’.”
Cr de Pieri, however, had the last word.
“We can waste a lot of time debating the sex of the angels, but this is very clear, we should move on, vote for it and be done with it,” he said.
Councillors voted in favour of supporting Cr Cupper’s RateGate campaign and asking the MAV to call on the Australian Government to address the rural-metropolitan rates divide.
It also called on the MAV to “strongly urge” the Victorian Government “as a matter of urgency” to provide asset sustainability funding to encourage infrastructure development to stimulate the economy and assist local communities recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
