The Andrews Government continues to pile on the cost-of-living pain as annual council rates skyrocket.
Victorians need an urgent solution as ratepayers and hardworking families are being unfairly asked to foot the bill for Local Government funding inequities.
The Andrews Government needs to provide Local Government with more funding to maintain service delivery and ensure rate payers don’t have to pick up the slack.
“Rate notices are landing in people’s letterboxes and they’re getting a huge shock,” Shadow Minister for Local Government, Peter Walsh, said.
In a stark example, the Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) has estimated that councils can maintain only 65 per cent of roads in their jurisdictions.
The Liberals and Nationals have secured a parliamentary inquiry into Local Government funding and service delivery as regional councils struggle with increasing financial burdens.
“Local Governments have a lot of services and responsibilities, and they don’t get a large enough share of money,” Mr Walsh said
“They don’t get enough share of Australia’s total tax revenue.”
“We believe there is a vertical imbalance of where the money raised and where the money is fed to deliver local services.”
“The reason for this inquiry was to take a step back and see how the local government can be funded in the future.”
The key inquiry will deliver recommendations to the Government by June 30 next year.
