Victoria's Latest Tax

[pmccarthy]

public letter by John Gault of Maryborough:

 

 

AN OPEN LETTER TO THE PREMIER OF VICTORIA, AND HER GOVERNMENT.

NEW TAX ON RATEPAYERS TO ALLEGEDLY FUND EMERGENCY SERVICES IN VICTORIA.

Dear Premier and Members of Victorian Government.

I am writing to you to express my utter and complete disgust and dismay at the passage of a Bill through the Parliament last night 16th May 2025, the effect of which is to savagely increase the taxation of property owners to allegedly fund emergency services in Victoria.

May I remind you that one of the core responsibilities of Government, if not indeed the MAJOR core responsibility of Government is to protect it's citizens from fire, flood, disaster and emergency by funding services to alleviate these emergency's from consolidated general revenue. But no, you continue to apply a levy related to land and property value rather than discharge your core responsibility irrespective of where, when and whom is affected by disaster.

There are times when I find it hard to use words strong enough to relay the depth of my feelings on such occasions as this. And this is one such time. But I will try.

Drawing on words by a well know journalist (Leonard PItts Jr of the "Miami Herald") when he wrote the day after of the disaster which was the destruction of the World Trade Centre in New York 24 years ago . . . . .

"You monsters. You beasts. You unspeakable bastards.".

To which I add "You soulless unpitying, unfeeling, merciless ratbags!".

At a time when especially Victorian farmers are facing the trauma of one of the worst droughts in recent history, when ALL Victorians are facing one of the worst cost of living crises in our history, when buying a home has become the impossible dream of vast numbers of Victorians, when we live in the most turbulent of economic times here at home and internationally, when there are wars broken out all over the world, when citizens are already fearful of what comes next, you do THIS!

As I said that journalist wrote, you monsters, you beasts, you unspeakable bastards!

And you make a virtue of deception! You also slightly eased the increase to the levy farmers pay, from a planned 189 per cent increase, to 150 per cent. Instead of hitting us with a baseball bat, you "generously" only belt us all with a sledge-hammer!!!! For many farmers, this is just about the last straw. Have you not heard of "Black Dog"?

And commercial premises owners are hit with similiar but slightly lower increases, and for residential house owners, the rate will more than double from 8% to 17%. Shame on you!

I for one am aware that your taxation powers are all but impregnable. I realize that you can put the long hand of Government into the back pockets, the bank books, the hard earned dollars of every farmer, business owner and John and Mary Citizen. And this is a glaring example of just that!

And coming from your Treasurer who not so long ago I clearly remember asking her Head of Treasury not to to send her papers which might confuse her with difficult financial terminology!

Premier and your Government, you might just have tipped the people of this State over the edge - the next time we get to pass judgment on your Government, believe me, WE WILL REMEMBER!

And that date is for Victorian voters the next State election - SATURDAY NOVEMBER 26, 2026.

I want to assure you that every day between now and then, WE WILL NOT FORGET!!!!!

So in conclusion, on behalf of ALL the John and Mary Citizens of this once prosperous and great but now languishing State, we will NEVER forget!

To which I again add "You soulless unpitying, unfeeling, merciless ratbags!".

Yours sincerely.

John Gault.
Maryborough.

[facthunter]

People want the Gov't to do everything but don't like to have to pay for it.. WE ARE Getting more extremes of weather. It WILL only get worse and cost more to rectify. as time goes on.  Nev

[onetrack]

Property owners are extremely well off by any measure, in this day and age. They are best situated monetarily to fund emergency services, and they have most to lose in fires, floods and earthquakes. I don't have much sympathy for John Gault, he's almost certainly a multi-millionaire, as are all farmers today. In my neck of the woods, farms are selling today for 10 times what they were 20 years ago, and it's all corporate money being ploughed into them.

 

One of my previous clients just sold his farm for $22.5M (in less than 3 weeks, I might add), and around 20 years ago he would've been struggling to get $2M for it. Pay the levy John Gault, you can easily afford it, you're a member of the "landed gentry", and you probably got your land for a relatively small outlay, or inherited it.

 

Drought is part and parcel of farming, I've endured it, and had to wear it. I changed business direction and put in 2,500 acres of crop in 1980 (which turned out to be the worst drought year in 80 years), and I harvested ONE 8 tonne truckload of wheat off that 2,500 acres at the end of that year - when I should've harvested at least 1500 tonnes.

And a big parcel of that cropped land was leased land, too - it wasn't even my land. Then I had to put up with diesel going from 10c litre to 40c a litre in the space of 18 mths - along with interest rates going from 7% to 23% in the same period of time!

 

No Govt cared about whether I could survive in my line of business, I just had to suck it up, and live with my losses. Farmers are pretty good at whinging about what they pay out, but they say nothing about what they get in, in good years, or in capital gains with their valuable land.

 

I've seen a bloke sorting out a recently-deceased farmers affairs, and this bloke confided he'd discovered a bank account belonging to the deceased farmer with $100,000 in it, that had been untouched for years. And that was in 1984, when $100,000 was serious money!

[Jerry_Atrick]

Here is a story on it: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-05-16/fire-levy-vote-passes-parliament-angers-farmers-emergency-tax/105295008

 

I agree with Nev, but there are different ways to manage it. As I recall, Australia generally had an unspken policy that those in rural and remote areas deserved a similar level of utilities (as far as practical) as more urban areas and that the bills for such utilities included the cost of supplying those areas - i..e there was a sort of defacto subsidisation. I recall some controversy over Telecom's bills in the day, but it was a generally accepted part of life in Aus. I don't see why rural Victoria, especially farmers would be required to disproptionately pay, especially when they are doing it fairly tough at the moment.

 

The way I see it, the Allan government has made a pretence of everyong pitching in, but the reality, the ones disproprtionately pitching in are the ones that are unlikely to vote for her in 18 months' time. There are other ways to manage it.  For example, there are still massive infrastructure investments, mainly in roads and the Tulla railway that could be paused or slowed to allow the economy to rebalance and breathing room to maintain the essentials. But that would mean probablyk releasing a heck of a lot of tradies works companies to compete in the normal market, which would probably drive prices lower, and since these people will be largely dran from ALP supporters, that will hit her already low relection chances.

 

She could do what Jeff Kennett did when he took over from Joan Kirner and add a flat increase for a defined period of time to council rates, but that would impact far ore people from her voter base and she doesn't have the luxury of blaming the current woes on the other team.. She is also, as Joan Kirner was when she took over, captive to her party and backroom vested interests. Yes, the Libs leader would also be captive to their party ideology and vested factional interests, but having the luxury of blaming the other team is a very potent one in politics.

 

What else can she do? The room to manoeuvre for any state premier isn't great. She can look at marginal increases to all of the revenue channells she has available to her. Here is a list: https://www.dtf.vic.gov.au/state-taxation-revenue. At the moment, the state revenues are $35bn or thereabouts. A 1% increase across the board will increase the coffers by $350m. I am not sure if that is what is required.. I can't find an amount the government say they need for the the fire service. But it should go a good way to what is needed.

 

 

 

 

[Jerry_Atrick]

10 minutes ago, onetrack said:

Property owners are extremely well off by any measure, in this day and age. They are best situated monetarily to fund emergency services, and they have most to lose in fires, floods and earthquakes. I don't have much sympathy for John Gault, he's almost certainly a multi-millionaire, as are all farmers today. In my neck of the woods, farms are selling today for 10 times what they were 20 years ago, and it's all corporate money being ploughed into them.

 

One of my previous clients just sold his farm for $22.5M (in less than 3 weeks, I might add), and around 20 years ago he would've been struggling to get $2M for it. Pay the levy John Gault, you can easily afford it, you're a member of the "landed gentry", and you probably got your land for a relatively small outlay, or inherited it.

 

Drought is part and parcel of farming, I've endured it, and had to wear it. I changed business direction and put in 2,500 acres of crop in 1980 (which turned out to be the worst drought year in 80 years), and I harvested ONE 8 tonne truckload of wheat off that 2,500 acres at the end of that year - when I should've harvested at least 1500 tonnes.

And a big parcel of that cropped land was leased land, too - it wasn't even my land. Then I had to put up with diesel going from 10c litre to 40c a litre in the space of 18 mths - along with interest rates going from 7% to 23% in the same period of time!

 

No Govt cared about whether I could survive in my line of business, I just had to suck it up, and live with my losses. Farmers are pretty good at whinging about what they pay out, but they say nothing about what they get in, in good years, or in capital gains with their valuable land.

 

I've seen a bloke sorting out a recently-deceased farmers affairs, and this bloke confided he'd discovered a bank account belonging to the deceased farmer with $100,000 in it, that had been untouched for years. And that was in 1984, when $100,000 was serious money!

John Gault's facebook page is here: https://www.facebook.com/john.gault.96/

 

He is not originally from the coutnry from what I can see.. Oakliegh is modest south eastern suburb of Melbourne. But, he has clearly made some money off the land, and is clearly right wing, looking at some of his posts. I agree that those who have the means to pay more should.. but that is somethign that is a wider discussion than this particular tax. For example, we are still giving our gas away to multinationals for free - shouldn't they pay for it.. they certainly have the means? The tax system has to be fairer, I agree.

 

Also, you're right the government coudln't give two stuffs about your business, but there are other non-agri businesses that, if you took away the subsidies, would probably go broke - fossil being one. You have to whinge like a pom to get the government to care 😉

 

 

[red750]

1 hour ago, Jerry_Atrick said:

mainly in roads and the Tulla railway

Jerry, that's just part of the things going on. There is the North East Link, a freeway running from the Eastern Freeway at Balwyn North to the Western Freeway at Greensborough, the Metro Tunnel, under St. Kilda Rd from the Shrine , under Swanston St and around the north of the CBD to join up with the Sunbury line, and the Suburban Rail Loop from Cheltenham, via Clayton, Glen Waverley, Box Hill, Heidelberg, Reservoir, Fawkner, Broadmeadows, Melbourne Airport, Sunshine, to Werribee, mostly by tunnel. They gave also announced a large upgrade of the Albert Park circuit to lock in the F1 GP till 2037, and spending lots to get Rory NcIlroy to the next two Australian Opens, all the while that we have a deficit bigger than any other state. Yes, they will be great assets in 20 or 30 years when they are finished, but can we afford them ALL now?

 

[octave]

16 minutes ago, red750 said:

Yes, they will be great assets in 20 or 30 years when they are finished, but can we afford them ALL now?

I imagine that the infrastructure that we enjoy and rely upon today was a substantial cost to the tax payers if the day.

 

There is a wise old saying " a society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they will never sit"

 

[Jerry_Atrick]

Yes - one of the reasons of the need for massive infrastruture investment in Victoria (and not only Melbourne) is the underinvestment in in many decades prior - from both ALP and Lib governments. And, when it was too neglected to ignore, the kitty was already bare. 

 

I don't think anyone is advocating completely stopping the investment. But to take the tree metaphor, if we plant that many tree that they all compete for resources and wither and die, or the wrong trees, or in the wrong place, then it will be all for nought.

 

I get that the 'burbs are developing in the west at a rapid rate. The Western corridor between Weribbee and Laverton, and the surrounds (Tarneit, etc) are well developed now, and of course, the development connecting Laverton to Deer Park via Truganina, Derrimut and the like, and the development north of Deer Park, and west towards Rock Bank require infrastructure. But aren't they adequately serviced by the Domain Tunnell/Westgate, and the Western Freeway as well as the Ring Road? Do we even need more roads, rather than focus on investment in developing convenient public transport as part of an urban mobility capability? Id following a USA based urban planning method the right thing for Melbourne? So we have a question of are we planting too many trees, and the right type of tree. And If we look at the Metro tunnel development, given the current access to Sunshine, do we need another tunnel from the Shrine to Sunshine? Is it the right location?

 

The SRL may be a good investment as it invests in PT across the city; not using a hub and spoke system which only works if you want to go to the hub or not far from it. But if I lived in Werrbbee and wanted to go to Cheltenham, I am probably still better off using  the car or go into Flinder Street and change trains to the Frankston line.

 

What may be better than all those roads, is one or two more  inner rail loops - possibly underground, so people can move more freely across the city.

 

Herer is a London "Tube" Map. It shows interconnecting routes, and additional non-tube routes which can be used to negotiate the city. Didn't need a car when we lived in London, and only take one in as it is cheaper than the inter-city rail. Once in London, car doesn't move until until I need to get home.

 

My niece and her boyfriend moved to London from Sydney about 6 months ago. They had to buy a car because their work is in the boon docks outside London, but they love London. Of course, the tubes run a lot more regularly than the trains in Melbourne and I guess Sydney, but that can be upped.. With a clean efficient, and unlike London, cheaper method of transport (Brisbane metro fares are at 50 cents, they don't have to be that cheap, but reasonably cheaper than a car), the roads would decongest somewhat, too.

 

 

 

Edited 4 hours ago by Jerry_Atrick

[onetrack]

Just looking at John Gaults FB page leads me to understand why he's whingeing about an increase in the emergency services levy - he's a dyed-in-the-wool, silver-spoon-in-the-mouth Liberal! Still backing imbeciles such as Tony Abbott!!

 

And still trying to figure out why the Liberals were beaten to a pulp at the last election!! Time for him to wake up to himself, and to understand his privileged position of massive wealth, and that it doesn't automatically bring great entitlements!