City of Melbourne warns 73 per cent tax hike will cripple CBD
Analysis by the Property Council found the 73 per cent increase proposed by the state government would result in an extra cost to motorists of up to $1,386 per point.
However, think tank the Grattan Institute has also backed increases in the CBD’s parking fee as a way to restrict congestion, as well as initiatives such as charging urban motorists at peak hours and discounting off-peak journeys on public transport.
“We haven’t seen any modeling or evidence from the state government on how this has led to reduced congestion,” Campbell said. “This isn’t about traffic congestion. This is about raising revenue.”
The congestion tax has increased by more than 600 percent since it was introduced, but the council gets a flat $7 million a year from it; this amount has not increased since the tax was introduced almost 20 years ago.
Reece supported the motion with a majority of councillors, saying the increase would put the city of Melbourne at a disadvantage compared to suburban shopping centers such as Chadstone.
“This is the wrong time for a tax increase in Melbourne,” he said. “This is the wrong time to introduce a new tax in the inner city.”
Councilor Owen Guest said it should not be up to the City of Melbourne or any other council to plug the state government’s budget deficits.
“What the state government has done to Victoria’s budget will go down shamefully in history,” he said.
Although Reece is a Labor Party member, the City of Melbourne is increasingly at odds with the Allan government.
In recent weeks the council has spoken out against the government’s work-from-home policy and criticized the government’s way of tackling crime in the CBD.
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The only people to vote against Campbell’s motion were Labor Councilor Davydd Griffiths and Green Councilor Olivia Ball.
Griffiths said it was ironic that the council debate was being held less than two weeks before the Metro Tunnel was due to open, meaning an additional 500,000 people were expected to come to the city each week.
“A lot of the rhetoric we heard tonight is about taking the opportunity to put the boot in state government,” he said.
