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Farm Rates Review

Continued disappointments with farmers' rates cap.

By Portal Admin - 21st April 2019 - Back to News

Dear Editor,

Our farmers are shouldering the burden of Daniel Andrews’ poorly implemented rates cap.

With farm rates in some shires going up 30 per cent last year, it’s clear the Andrews Government’s ‘Fair Go’ rates cap is anything but fair.

A review of farm rates is long overdue.

But instead of listening to Victorian farmers’ pleas to urgently conduct a farm rates review, Labor has dragged its feet and refused to make this critical review a priority.

Farmers are right to question if Labor’s serious about providing genuine relief, when its Local Government Minister will only say "a review will take place", but fails to say when it will actually be delivered.

There’s no reason an independent review of farm rates, with the rate cap applied to all rating categories while it is conducted, can’t begin immediately.

While Daniel Andrews dithers, he’s denying our farmers an opportunity for relief – at a time when many are already under pressure from drought, high water prices and a high cost of energy.

We can’t afford to rate our farmers out of existence.

Source: www.gippsland.com

Published by: support@gippsland.com

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