‘I’m sounding a bit like a Liberal’: Councils pursue massive cash grab

Several NSW councils are making audacious bids to increase rates as the cost of living soars, but the moves have proved controversial within their own ranks.

City of Canada Bay Council in Sydney’s inner west voted last week to consult the community on a plan to hike rates by 32.52 per cent over the next four years – 20 per cent more than the projected “rate peg” set by the independent regulator.

An internal report said the council was “unable to continue to provide services at current levels ... within the currently available revenues”, and a special rate increase – if approved by the regulator – would generate additional revenue of $8.28 million over four years.

It also found that after such an increase, Canada Bay ratepayers would still pay less on average than their neighbours in the Inner West, Lane Cove and Burwood.

Greens councillor Charles Jago told the meeting: “If the council is a vehicle, we’re heading towards a situation where we’re going to need to trade it in because the wheels are likely to fall off at some point. We cannot continue like this.”

But Labor’s Andrew Ferguson said he did not think the council had a mandate for such a large hike, especially amid a “very substantial increase in the cost of living”. “Everyone here [in this room] can afford an increase of this size, but there are many people in the community that can’t,” he said.

The Independent Commission Against Corruption is currently investigating allegations Canada Bay’s long-term mayor Angelo Tsirekas accepted perks from developers, including international flights and accommodation, in return for favourable decisions. He vowed to fight the allegations.

Earlier in August, Woollahra Council voted to start community consultation on a proposal to lift rates by as much as 35 per cent over the next three years. In one scenario, the council would hike rates 17.5 per cent in 2023-24, then another 11.5 per cent the following year.

Only one councillor voted against the idea – Residents First’s Luise Elsing – who noted household margins were “getting very thin”.

“I think it’s better for the economy that residents hang on to their money. When we increase rates it’s the poorer people in our community who bear the weight of it,” she said. “It’s a want not a need. We’ve been rich in the past, we came a little bit unstuck through.”

But Woollahra Greens councillor Nicola Grieve said it was fiscally irresponsible for the council to do nothing given rising costs.

“We live in one of the wealthiest municipalities in the country and [this] amounts to maybe $25 or $50 extra, it’s a very little amount a quarter. Nobody will be bankrupted because of these rates,” she said. “If you want [services], then you pay for it. I’m sounding a bit like a Liberal, but user pays.”

It is not just metropolitan councils eyeing a massive rate hike; Tenterfield Shire in the New England region recently voted to consult on plans to more than double its rates over the next two years.

It is proposing a 43 per cent hike in 2023-24 and another 43 per cent in 2024-25 to address a dire long-term budget position. A report said the council had “little option” but to significantly raise rates or drastically cut back on services to avoid insolvency.

However, the Tenterfield community is fighting back. A group called Our Shire Our Council held a well-attended public meeting this month at the town’s Best Western Motel; the group’s stated aim is “controlling council’s spending”, reducing debt and capping rate rises to inflation.

Councils must apply to the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal of NSW for any special variation to rates above the standard “rate peg” set by the tribunal.

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