Steve Greenwood |
Friday, 19 February 2010 12:01 AM |
26 Comments
This is a fight that didn’t need to happen – but unfortunately the Government elected to try-on Queensland’s property investors in the misplaced belief they could get away with it.
The ill conceived Valuation of Land and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2010 introduced into parliament last week by the Government is nothing short of a disgrace.
This is the third significant government policy announced in the last few months without adequate consultation - the others being the removal of covenants and the Koala SPP. The adverse results of the Government’s recent pigheaded approach are clear for all in industry to see – they are crippling investment in Queensland. The problem we have is that the Government just doesn’t seem to get it.
The evidence is readily available. It was only two weeks ago that the Property Council released our Office Market Report showing that Brisbane and the Gold Coast are experiencing the highest office vacancies in 15 years. This is not evidence of a region doing well.
We are in no doubt that the Government has not considered (or at best doesn’t understand) the full ramifications of the proposed changes to the valuations system – most alarmingly the Government doesn’t even see them as changes. In his speech to Parliament the Minister said that “the Government’s policy has always been to value land as developed”.
In the last week I have not come across a single valuer who agrees with that interpretation. In fact the directors of Queensland’s major valuation firms have come out strongly in condemning the Government’s unworkable legislation.
This Bill makes the ‘un’ in ‘unimproved value’ redundant. But instead of dropping the ‘un’ the State wants to re-write the dictionary so that the word unimproved actually means improved. It appears the people at the Macquarie Dictionary also have a battle on their hands.
We know the proposed changes will destroy property values and capital investment in Queensland, but the Government seems confused. Aspects of this Bill including the definition of ‘unimproved value’ and the appeals process appear removed from reality; but the Government thinks it can work.
So where do we go from here?
The first thing is that the fight is far from over. Over the years the Property Council has made a name for itself as an effective industry advocate. This is what we do.
We have launched a major campaign “Fighting the Land Tax Grab” and in conjunction with other key industry associations plan to continue the fight until we secure a win.
We have established a voluntary Fighting Fund to support the campaign – we are and will continue to be heard on this issue. As we have done, we will keep our members in the loop as to our activities.
I want to reiterate something that we have said to all of our members in recent member alerts. You can play an important part in this campaign. You can:
- Write to the Premier and your local member expressing your strong opposition and point out the destructive effect this will have on investment and development in Queensland – and encourage all of your clients and networks to do the same.
- Consider contributing to the voluntary Fighting Fund and support our campaign to raise media, community and parliamentary understanding of this issue. Much more is planned on the media front – contact me directly if you are able to contribute (sgreenwood@propertyoz.com.au or 0488 721 156).
I want to thank those members that have contributed time, energy and resources to the campaign so far. It has been invaluable. Let’s keep up the pressure.
Steve Greenwood |
Friday, 19 February 2010 12:01 AM |
26 Comments
