Residents unite to fight levies

Coolum resident George Hamilton.

Mike Garry

Councillors who supported the introduction of the environment, transport and tourism levies are in for a fight between now and the next election.

A new lobby group, Ratepayers Against Levies, has been formed from the ashes of Levy Busters, which claims to have brought about the 2004 downfall of Alison Grosse and other Maroochy councillors who first introduced a tourism levy.

Ratepayers Against Levies spokesperson, and former Levy Buster, George Hamilton said the new group was gathering momentum across the Coast.

“Our group, quite simply, is sick to death of probably in excess of $18 million a year being squandered on nonsense,” Mr Hamilton said.

“My beef is with the whole three of them: the conservation levy, the transport levy, but, in particular, the tourism levy.

“It’s time the tourism industry learnt to stand on its own two feet. The same as my industry had to when I had a Mitsubishi and Daihatsu motor dealership.

“I didn’t ask the ratepayers to fund my promotions.”

The Sunshine Coast Regional Council introduced the tourism levy from July 1, which brought the former Maroochy Shire in line with the former Caloundra and Noosa shires where the levy already existed.

Mayor Bob Abbot said at the time the levy was expected to raise $2.7 million in the following financial year – all of which would be spent to promote and support the central region of the Coast.

“This is designed to help the tourism industry take control of its own future, to put the responsibility for marketing this region in the hands of the experts and allow the benefits to flow through our entire regional economy,” Mr Abbot said.

“The levy has proven its worth in the northern and southern areas and we know this will be the case in the central area too.”

The levy is paid by about 11,000 accommodation, commercial and industrial properties in the central region, based on their use, location and unimproved capital value of the land.

But Ratepayers Against Levies rejects the philosophy that everybody benefits from tourism.

“My argument has always been from day one: if everybody benefits why doesn’t everybody pay?” Mr Hamilton said.

“It’s not a flat rate of x amount per ratepayer. It is linked to the unimproved capital value of the property.

“So you have a small business, husband and wife, say, …who finish up paying a tourism levy identical to the guy that might have a three or four or five storey building right next door.

“I know one business, a mechanical workshop, that is paying $1336 a year – and it is a very small business, employing two mechanics and a cleaner.

“That’s not fair.”