The lobby group for Queensland's canegrowers has flagged local government rating policies as a big issue, leading up to the two elections to be held in the state in 2024.
In his welcome message to readers, Canegrowers president Owen Menkens told them that over recent years, the rates bills that appear in their mailboxes as farmers had become an ever-increasing hit to their bottom line.
"There is no doubt that our councils need to raise the necessary funds to deliver the local services our communities need, but many of our members experience bill shocks whenever a rates notice appears, with significant increases year-on-year," he told them.
While agreeing that council rating practices helped local government incomes, he described the process by which they determine rates as "something of a dark art, which he said often delivered perverse outcomes.
As well as that, he said producers were often expected to pay much higher rates than other residents and small businesses while often receiving fewer services.
Quoting an independent analysis of the sugarcane industry, he said it found that for every $1 worth of cane grown in Queensland, the industry generates $6.42 in income for the state economy, and that the industry supported over 22,000 jobs and 10,000 businesses.
Speaking to Queensland Country Life, Mr Menken said his lobby group represented 4000 businesses from Mossman in Far North Queensland to Rocky Point in the Gold Coast hinterland, as well as a slice of northern NSW, which covered 15 different rating systems across the 2000km of coastline.
"There are lots of councils and lots of different situations," he said.
"In some areas, cane farmers are penalised, such as Bundaberg, Mackay and Burdekin, where I farm - that has the highest cents in the dollar rate in the state.
"Then other councils have good systems."
Working with the Queensland Farmers Federation, Mr Menken said they'd raised concerns around equity and fairness with the Local Government Association of Queensland.
"As a result, at its state council in October 2023, the LGAQ conceded there was a problem," he said. "In fact, a number of councils sought to have the issues of equity and fairness raised at state government level."
Mr Menken said they had begun to see a reduction in the discrepancy in rates in areas, which he put down to the Canegrowers lobby, but said their call for a simpler system for councils was something that would need to be determined by the state government.
"This is an overall look at rating practices across the state," he said, acknowledging that it was up to individual property owners to negotiate with the Valuer-General if they though the value of their land was unjust, or based on one significant event.
Council rates have been an ongoing issue in Queensland, including with the Bundaberg Regional Ratepayers Association, which launched a petition last year, calling for state government guidelines on local government rating to be made mandatory.
They had earlier been critical of Bundaberg Regional Council rate increases of up to 235 per cent in 2020.
The Central Highlands Ratepayers Association has also been lobbying against the Central Highlands Regional Council's policy of capping rates.
Sally Gall
Based at Blackall, CW Qld, where I've raised a family, run Merino sheep and beef cattle, and helped develop a region - its history, tourism, education and communications. Get in touch at 0427 575 955 if you've got a story idea for me.
Based at Blackall, CW Qld, where I've raised a family, run Merino sheep and beef cattle, and helped develop a region - its history, tourism, education and communications. Get in touch at 0427 575 955 if you've got a story idea for me.
