A NORTH Queensland grazier says his region is being flogged with rates three times higher than neighbouring electorates, and 1.8 times more than the east coast's highest rate payers from the Burdekin region.
Grazier Jason Burzacott launched a petition last year for fair rates for Cassowary Coast graziers, and upon submission to Cassowary Coast Regional Council, the petition had received 681 signatures.
"My rates are $19,000 per year," he said.
"Naturally, lobbing council is not what most graziers want to be doing.
"We've been lobbying council before this. They waited before the Rates Advisory Process to address it...if we don't see a good result, if we get a no, we may have to wait another four years for the next opportunity."
While he has met with willing and receptive council representatives about the plight, he said there has been little done to remedy the issue, with producers still lumped together in a rating category.
"Cassowary Coast Council is the only high rating council that does not break out grazing," he said.
Mr Burzacott said the CCRC is currently the only "high Rate In the Dollar" LGA amongst the state's east coast peers, which "does not treat grazing as a separate rating category", resulting in rate payers paying the highest Rates in the Dollar for graziers in Queensland.
Mr Burzacott said a reduction in the RID for CCRC graziers to be on par with the highest east coast rate payers at the Burdekin region would represent $1m in savings each year.
He and fellow graziers formed the Cassowary Coast Graziers Association, with council in turn conducting a Rating Advisory Committee process made up of a "broad spectrum of 12 rate payer representatives to make recommendations to council" and collaborate an RAC report.
Mr Burzacott represented 203 graziers - a small minority of the region's 15,797 rate payers.
"To make the rates better for graziers, it would upset most of the rate payers...Facts and fairness are firmly on our side but democracy certainly isn't. We don't have the votes to influence to assure fairness is met," he said.
"The bit that's missing for us, as valuations go up as graziers, the RID does not go up correspondingly as they're all bundled up.
"Fifteen per cent of the average grazier sales are going to rates. That's not profit, that's sales. There's a big whack of expenses. Just buying the next cattle, that's half the sales gone.
"Without exaggeration, the average grazier is paying well over 30 per cent of their profits to rates. No other segments come anywhere near it. We are alone in that at the Cassowary Coast."
The report outlined a recommendation to break grazing out as a separate category with a reduced RID - which still would have left the region's graziers within the highest RID in comparison to east coast graziers.
"In the RAC process, other representatives needed to agree that their segment should pay more so graziers could pay less. Naturally this was not too appealing and to the other representatives' credit, a compromise position was reached," Mr Burzacott said.
According to the RAC report, 203 graziers from the CCRC were paying an average general rates and levies expense of $10,188.
"Grazier expenses are significant; replacement stock for those fattening cattle could represent around 50 per cent of the sales...(and) there is also fuel, supplements and husbandry, maintenance, insurance, transport, commissions and then rates," Mr Burzacott said.
"A key contributor to the issue is CCRC bundling all primary producers together for rates purposes whereas the Valuer General treats the different commodity land valuations separately.
"Grazing land has increased in value more than cane land, but as grazing land is less than 20 per cent of the total land valuation, the reductions in the primary production RID has not kept grazing rates relatively constant.
"An average cost of rates in comparison to profit of well over 30 per cent is most probable. This would classify graziers as being in rates stress, if the housing stress measurements are applied."
For six years, Mr Burzacott has run 480 acres across two titles, but said he has no council services to his property, and must lease and maintain his own access road which joins with a state government-maintained road.
The Cassowary Coast was formed after the amalgamation of Cardwell and South Johnstone.
At the time, Cardwell separated grazing in a different category, but South Johnstone did not - which has since carried on to the amalgamated CCRC.
"At the time with land valuations, it may have been fair and reasonable, but over time, with value increase, cane and cattle rise and fall at different rates - which is why to me it's so far out of kilter," he said.
"Graziers pay more rates than cane farmers and...the average of banana farmers. They are great...they're the backbone of this economy...but under policy and fairness, we should be paying less rates...we send two to three trucks a year...but (those industries) are pumping trucks back and forth, a lot of employees on those roads.
"The CCRC RID and neighbouring Hinchinbrook RID are all very close together for all rating categories with the exception of graziers, being 2.8 times more."
Mr Burzacott said the high rates chew into his family's discretionary spending.
"We'd love to do more...we care about the environment, and we see opportunities to put in erosion prevention measures, tree planting, fencing creek lines, all sorts of things we'd love to be doing," he said.
"There is very little return (for our rates). Some of the other LGAs that charge much less...they get exclusion fencing, weed control programs, stock control. The Cassowary Coast gets none of that.
"If you want to transfer (your land) to other activities, you need a permit and an on-site valuation. It's highly unlikely...most of my land is suitable for other crops.
"We have no other option to move to high value crops. Some people would be able to point to other people who have gone from cane to cattle but that's the exception."
A CCRC spokesperson said council had "historically rated all primary producers at the same rate in the dollar".
"The percentage of council rate yield from the primary production category has reduced over the last five financial years," the spokesperson said.
"Any impact on graziers in addition to any rates and charges increases applied to all rate payers across the council has derived from increases in the unimproved land value where the land is used for grazing livestock.
"Council's rating strategy will be decided by the new council as part of the 2024/25 budget process.
"This decision will be informed by the above-mentioned consultation and recommendations of the Rating Advisory Committee."
