Local Government Association of Queensland executive director, Greg Hallam, has challenged well-known Queensland property analyst, Mike Matusik, on his claims that Melbourne's property infrastructure charges were far lower than those in Queensland.
"Mr Matusik claims Melbourne's property infrastructure charges are five and six times lower than those charged in Queensland," Mr Hallam said today.
"It's time Mr Matusik puts up or shuts up. We challenge him to subject his claims to an external review by any reputable state or federal economic institution such as treasuries, productivity commissions or competition watchdogs," he said.
"I wrote to Mr Matusik late last year and invited him to discuss his figures with us. He never bothered to respond. Instead, he persists with his fiction of Melbourne being cheaper by five of five or six times. He and his cronies in the property development industry can repeat their silly claims until they are blue in the face, but it won't make them right. All they do is dig a bigger hole for their professional credibility.
"What Matusik Property Insights doesn't tell you is one of their exemplar Melbourne councils, Brimbank, was sacked for corruption in October last year in relation to property matters and undue influence by criminals on council decision-making. I would have thought this was not a shining example of how to do it.
"More significantly, Mr Matusik quite purposefully omits all Victorian government charges in his subdivision costs. In Victoria, the state water authorities - not councils - levy water infrastructure charges on subdivisions. Futhermore, the Victorian government has just introduced broad hectare infrastructure charges on development blocks which add around $10,000 per lot - this doesn't get a mention in his contrived comparison.
"It's so hamfisted an attempt to build a case it's laughable."
"In November last year, AEC consultants, one of Australia's leading economic consultancies, compared development infrastructure charges across four states, including Victoria, and found that Victorian and Queensland charges were line-ball – certainly not five times cheaper in Victoria. This comparison was done on apples with apples basis, not selected figures plucked out of thin air," he said.
Mr Hallam said the challenge for Mr Matusik was to put up his figures to external review or withdraw his spurious and confected comparisons, or risk discredit within the property industry which he advises.
