Angry landowners and Taxed Out supporters will rally against the Brumby Government’s Growth Areas Infrastructure Contribution (GAIC) bill, currently before Parliament, tomorrow on the steps of Parliament House in Melbourne at 1.00pm.
The rally has been called by Taxed Out and will be supported by Protectors of Public Lands Victoria, Planning Backlash and the Green Wedges Coalition.
Taxed Out committee member David Trenerry will act as MC and speakers will included: Michael Hocking (Chairman of Taxed Out Inc.), Matthew Guy MP (Shadow Minister for Planning), Greg Barber MP (Greens State Member for Northern Metropolitan Region), Julianne Bell (Protectors of Public Lands Victoria), Mary Drost (Planning Backlash) and Rosemary West (Green Wedges Coalition).
Messages of support from growth areas councils will also be read out.
Mitchell, Melton, Whittlesea, Hume, Casey and Cardinia Councils; The Victorian Farmers Federation; the Urban Development Institute of Australia (Victoria); the Australian Property Institute; the Property Council of Australia; Seniors Australia; the Housing Institute Association; Protectors of Public Lands Victoria, Green Wedges Coalition and Planning Backlash are among the organisations who agree that the GAIC should only be charged at the point of development.
Ed. Note however that the Australian Property Institute, the Property Council of Australia, and the HIA are all profiting from and lobbying for the undemocratic population growth that is the cause of these new taxes. I hope some people carry some signs pointing this out. People should not be misled into thinking that these pro-growth organisations will put democracy ahead of their sectional interests. They are in fact the source of most of the problems in Australia today. They have the ears of government and one wonders what their purpose is in going to the steps of parliament, except perhaps to mislead the public into thinking they are friends of the people.
The current GAIC bill still targets the first sale of property after its inclusion in the Urban Growth Boundary despite the fact that much of the land will not be developed for 15 to 20 years or longer.
So-called “fairness measures” announced by the Government amount to exemptions that are in direct conflict with planning provisions; a deferment option that incurs a premium interest rate set by the Treasurer; and hardship provisions that apply to purchasers who buy in full knowledge of the tax but do not extend to landowners inadvertently caught up in the government’s UGB tax snare.
“We have a situation here where virtually no one agrees with the Government’s position on the GAIC and yet Mr. Brumby and Mr. Madden want to blindly forge on in the face of clear and overwhelming public opposition,” says rally MC, David Trenerry.
“That’s not the Australian way, it’s not the ‘fair go’ we all expect. It’s simply unfair, un-Australian and undemocratic. The simple truth is that Mr. Brumby and Mr. Madden have got the palms of their hands fixed firmly over their ears. They have stopped listening.”
MEDIA RELEASE
Monday 23rd November 2009
Media Contacts:
Michael Hocking 0400 248 099
Jeanette Laffan 0438 452 641
David Trenerry 0403 464 985
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