Bracks Government Destroys Rural Land Values
The "business-friendly" Bracks government's anti-development zoning changes are about to destroy hundreds of millions of dollars in land value across Victoria, with disastrous effects for local councils across the state. [See Herald Sun: Rate rise fear with land law]. Property prices for smaller rural blocks are expected to drop significantly as a result of new zoning laws which restrict development on rural blocks under 40 hectares in size - forcing councils to raise rates on other property to make up for the loss of revenue.
The rules also threaten to push out of reach the dream of many Victorians to move to the country and live on the land. The cost of going bush promises to become heart-breakingly prohibitive as homebuilders are forced to search out rarer, more expensive and harder to maintain blocks of 40 hectares or more.
The Bracks government portray themselves as encouraging Victorian businesses to be world-class [See Business Victoria: Become A World Class Performer] but it seems they are intent on keeping country Victoria out of the class.
posted by Anonymous @ 11:33 PM
1 Comments:
Funny how the Farm Sector that was complaining about the subdivision of farms forcing up the cost of farm land and therefore preventing farms from expanding, is now complaining about the restrictions on farm land sub division is underminimg the value of farm land !
You cannot have it both ways, eihter you want to be able to subdivide land for housing, in which case land value and rates will increase in line with the lands value as a building block.
Or, you want farm land restricted to farm land, in which case its value for housing blocks, and therefore its total value will fall.
Irrespective of this, Local Government has an obligation to rate land per its inherent land use value, and to set a rate that will meet its anticipated budgeted expenditure.
Local Government will set a rate at a level it percieves to be fair to all rate payers. As it is not possible to set a rate that all rate payers will be happy with, a compromise will be attempted, and the unhappy ones will blame either the State or Local Governments instead of suggesting a better or more imaginative alternative.
Finally, I read the whinge, but fail to see you proposing an alternative.
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