Tuesday, 9th March 2010
LGAQ Applauds Govt Move to Protect Mum and Dad Ratepayers
The amended Valuation of Land Act, reintroduced to State Parliament today was good and balanced policy that served the interest of all Queenslanders, according to Local Government Association of Queensland president, Cr Paul Bell.
"First and foremost, it protects Mum and Dad ratepayers by ruling out councils being forced to pay back $600 million to shopping centre owners. That would have been a financial disaster for Queenslander's larger councils," Cr Bell said. "That calamity has now been avoided.
"Secondly, the new package does provide $30 million in financial assistance for the resolution of outstanding claims for the 300 cases before the courts. That is a fair and just treatment of the shopping centre owners' grievance and we urge them to negotiate now, in good faith, before the June 30 statutory deadline. Councils will be reimbursed directly by the state government for monies it has to pay back," he said.
"Finally and in some ways most importantly, the move from an unimproved capital value methodology to a site value method of valuations fixes the problem once and for all. The LGAQ has supported the use of site valuations for urban areas for over a decade. This brings Queensland into line with the rest of Australia in terms of valuation methodology.
"I want to thank Premier Anna Bligh and Minister Stephen Robertson for their cooperation and consideration through this very difficult issue," Cr Bell said
