Another Sydney council has caused community outrage by voting to raise taxes by almost 90 per cent.
On Monday, North Sydney Council voted to increase residents’ rates by 87 per cent over two years. The 7-3 vote in favour sparked protests and threats from residents to boycott payments – a position backed by former prime minister Tony Abbott.
In response, president of the peak body for local government in New South Wales Phyllis Miller told ABC Radio Sydney on Tuesday that Abbott’s comments were “unlawful and a disgrace – we wouldn’t do that and tell people not to pay their taxes”, she said.
In an earlier statement released by Local Government NSW, Miller said a boycott was not a solution. “Councillors are very aware of the additional financial burden this causes for their communities, but deciding not to pay council rates is not going to help.”
Financial sustainability of councils has been undermined by cost-shifting, rate-pegging and other influences for over 40 years, added Miller. “These factors increase the burden on councils and reduce their ability to raise the appropriate revenue for community service delivery.”
The North Sydney rate increase has been blamed by backers on a blowout in the cost of the refurbishment of North Sydney Olympic Pool. Opponents of the increase point to a fall in non-rates revenue, an infrastructure maintenance backlog and “more than a decade of neglect by the former Liberal-aligned council”.
The North Sydney ballot comes in the wake of a narrow vote by Northern Beaches Council late last month to raise rates by 39.6 per cent over three years.
Also speaking to ABC Radio Sydney, NSW Local Government Minister Ron Hoenig, who told councils they needed to be “extremely cautious” about issuing “ridiculous” demands “because we’re in a cost-of-living crisis and now is not the time for councils to be asking for excessive rate increases when people are struggling to make ends meet”.
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