Liam McNally
Moorabool council will proceed with an average farm property rate increase of 16.1 per cent, despite opposition from residents and three councillors.
Council flagged the increase in its draft 2023-24, with two of five submitters urging council to reconsider the farm rate rise.
Moorabool farmer and Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) livestock president Scott Young warned councillors that “our farmers are going to get rated out of the shire” when he presented his submission to council on May 10.
“Farmers have had rate increases of 85 per cent over the past three years … but our income hasn’t increased as those rates have risen,” he said.
Council said the average increase is driven by 31 properties in “strategic growth corridors” which are experiencing more demand in preparation for future developments and are planned to be rezoned in the coming years.
It said the average increase for the 1198 farm properties would be 4.7 per cent and 50 per cent of properties would receive a rates decrease compared to 2022-23.
Mr Young, who “can’t imagine” his land being due for rezoning as it is home to wind farms, said while land values have risen, farmers can’t capitalise on the increase unless they sell their properties.
Mr Young, who farms sheep and grain crops, said the rate rises will also come on top of the worst year in the last 30 that he can remember farming.
He said due to spring rain causing all his crops to fail and lambs fattening six months later than normal, he only made a quarter of the income he does in a normal year, and that he’s “very nervous” for the year ahead.
“Soil moisture is almost at 100 per cent now, so as rain comes through the winter time, if it ends up getting cold and wet then the paddocks will flood again this year and drown out the crops,” he said.
The topic was the primary cause for a four-three split at the May 17 budget adoption meeting, in which the four east Moorabool councillors voted to adopt the budget, and the other three wanted to delay it for a closer look at the rating system.
Cr Tom Sullivan, who voted against the budget, said council responses to budget submissions were “inadequate”.
“My issue is that once again, it is not a fair and equitable rating strategy that we employ,” he said.
“We have kicked this can down the road long enough to say we say we’ll work on our rating strategy but we don’t, and I think the time has come … this is a line in the sand time.”
Cr Tonia Dudzik said she doesn’t “think it’s right to try at last minute to change the rating strategy”.
“Substantial work has been put into it by councillors to deliver important projects to the community … We haven’t come up with a better option, I think this budget is fair,” she said.
Mr Young said he is “disappointed” that the rate increases will go ahead.
“We pay $20,000 a year and what services do I get over what the people in town? We get less, we don’t even get rubbish collection,” he said.
