The Local Government Association of Queensland has released a statement about the State’s waste levy tax plans, with LGAQ CEO, Greg Hallam, urging the Premier to be transparent about the future of the levy.
Mr Hallam said contrary to Treasurer Cameron Dick’s comments that councils “should be so lucky” to take credit for the State’s waste levy, all councils wanted was to make sure the Palaszczuk Government was keeping its promise to Queenslanders and not slugging them with a bin tax.
“This subsidy was a promise made by Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to ensure the Government’s waste levy does not become a wheelie bin tax,” Mr Hallam said.
“We call on the Premier to put her hand on her heart and tell Queenslanders her promise will be kept because the five million residents living in her government’s waste levy zone have got to be certain they will not have to pay more come July next year [2022].
The State Budget, which was released in mid-June, revealed the advance waste levy payments to councils to fund the government’s household subsidy are only guaranteed to Queenslanders for one more year and will end on June 30 2022.
“The waste levy was designed to stop interstate dumping and to foster new technologies and industries to help local households ultimately place less waste in landfill,” Mr Hallam said.
“To remove the household subsidy before the State has helped ensure Queenslanders have the necessary recycling and recovery options available to them would be a premature and counterproductive move.
“You only have to read the recent Auditor-General’s report on council financial sustainability to see how unworkable it would be for the State to try to push this impost on to councils.
“We don’t want this to be just another State tax added on to the council rates bill.
“We want to see meaningful investment in waste resource recycling and recovery, and we look forward to discussing this in more detail with the State.”
