Hume, Whittlesea and Macedon Ranges residents are unlikely to see any reduction in council rates or charges despite last month’s removal of the carbon tax.
The federal government claims the move will reduce the cost of living for households by $550 in 2014-15, mainly through lower electricity and gas prices.
Federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt said the tax introduced by the former Labor government in 2012 had been costing the Australian economy $9 billion a year, with businesses absorbing the costs or passing them on to consumers.
Whittlesea council finance director Rod Wilkinson said the tax cost the city an estimated $220,000 in 2013-14, including $169,429 as a result of a council contractor charging per tonne of waste sent to landfill.
But Mr Wilkinson said the council created a contingency fund ahead of its 2012-13 budget to cover the anticipated impact of the tax, which had been included in subsequent rates decisions.
“No decision has been made regarding a review of rates before the 2015-16 budget,” he said. “Any favourable result due to the removal of the carbon tax will be factored into future decisions.”
Macedon Ranges council chief executive Peter Johnston said the carbon tax was not applied to any areas of the shire’s budget in 2013-14. “It [the tax] did not affect rates and charges and it did not have a material impact on our expenses,” he said.
Hume council said it was still reviewing whether the removal of the tax would have any implications for the council or ratepayers.
Bendigo Labor MP Lisa Chesters slammed the removal of the carbon tax as a backwards step in tackling climate change.
“Climate change is real and we need strong leadership at all levels to tackle it,” she said.
“Any benefits to councils from repealing the carbon tax will be far outweighed by the government freezing their financial assistance grants.’’
