Council must make amends on rates issue

THE devil is in the detail for Gold Coast ratepayers. The same can be said for council. Home owners unfortunate enough to have overpaid their rates for years have been consistently told they can’t get refunds because rules dictate objections must be lodged within 30 days.

Those rules are set out in the state government’s Local Government Regulation 2012.

Section 90, part 5 of that document states: “The owner must give the objection notice within – (a) 30 days after the rate notice was issued.” But then it goes on to add: “or (b) a longer period that the local government allows.”

So there is more flexibility built into the rules than widely advertised.

The state government says there is nothing in the rules to stop council issuing refunds, so long as they are properly allowed for in its budget. It has even helpfully offered to assist council navigate its way through the matter.

It means if CEO Tim Baker’s report on the scandal finds ratepayers have indeed been charged too much, the way is clear for them to be refunded, which council must do.

Council must also change the way rating categories appear on bills to avoid the issue recurring in the future.

Its own Revenue Policy 2022-23 says that in levying rates council “will have regard to transparency” and “ensure that both rate notices and water and sewerage rate notices are as simple to read as possible”.

That clearly has not happened in the cases reported by the Bulletin.

This city is facing a cost of living crisis. It’s why this newspaper has arranged daily offers to help ease the burden for readers.

Council needs to do its bit too by refunding legitimate claims of rates overpayments and ensuring the issue never arises again.

FOUR times a year, I receive a four-page coloured Gold Coast Community News Flyer, from the council with my rates notices, highlighting the hard and good work the council does.

This year, they have added $5 to my rates for “recycling utility charge”.

I would prefer, for the council to send me one flyer, at the end of the year, with the smiling face of the Mayor, congratulating all the councillors for their hard work and little pay.

Please use the money saved on advertising to offset my rates etc. and reduce waste.

GEORGE SAALMANN, BROADBEACH

IN all of Joe Biden’s pre-election speeches and debates, and again in his election victory speech, Biden banged on and on about how his government would not be divisive, he would unite America, he welcomed all Americans to share his journey of togetherness as he began a new era of unity.

Now Biden is instead alienating half of the American people, and Biden himself is riling up his supporters and stirring up anger, with constant attacks on Trump and Republicans.

So much for the wonderful new dawn under the left. Biden is terrified Trump will win the primary and sweep back into power, thus the constant attacks and smear campaigns.

T BRIEN, HOPE ISLAND

A RECESSION is not the best time to ask for a pay rise.

The cost of living in Australia has dramatically escalated over the last decade, rent increases are out of control and the price of fuel has doubled.

The double whammy is the LNP deliberately kept wages low as part of their economic plan. Now Australians are paying the price.

We currently have a worker shortage in Australia, the perfect time to ask for a pay rise.

Peter Gleeson advises against a pay rise and blames lazy school leavers for the worker shortage. He claims: “We have pampered our younger generation too much, now they are taking the piss”.

A recession is not the best time to ask for a pay rise, now is the perfect opportunity.

Join your trade union and work together for better pay and work conditions before it’s too late.

Labor is judged in comparison to the LNP which makes them look very good, however lifting the migration cap to 195,000 will increase the housing crisis, increase the cost of living due to food shortages and keep wages stagnant.

If Labor was compared to a party that actually puts the worker first they fail miserably. I urge people to join the The Social Alliance Party and strengthen the rights of the worker.

SHAUN CUNNEEN, MOUNT NATHAN I HUMBLY stand corrected re- my error about the weekly wage packet back in 1970, which was in fact was only around $40-$50 per week, but as I did mention, we as a family of four, never wanted for anything, simply because Queensland was such a rich prosperous State and the country’s cheapest to live in, because of the brilliantly controlled cost of living under the wing of the legendry Joh Bjelke-Petersen.

1790

Captain Arthur Phillip is speared at Manly Cove while attempting to speak with Bennelong and Colbee. 1812

Russia resists Napoleon in Battle of Borodino.

1822

Dom Pedro I declares the independence of Brazil.

1848

Serfdom is abolished in Austria in a Habsburg act of emancipation. 1860

Giuseppe Garibaldi enters Naples, Italy, and proclaims himself “Dictator of the Two Sicilies”.

1892

“Gentleman Jim’’ Corbett defeats fellow American John L. Sullivan in New Orleans to become the first world heavyweight champion under new Marquess of Queensberry boxing rules, which require gloves. 1901

The Boxer Rebellion, started by antiforeigner gangs in and around Beijing, officially ends with a treaty in which the powers that put down the revolt impose a crippling indemnity on China. 1936

Benjamin, the last Tasmanian tiger or thylacine in captivity, dies in Hobart Zoo from cold, having been left out overnight. 1940

Herman Goering’s Luftwaffe begins the World War II raids on London known as the Blitz. The East End and docklands are set ablaze but the Germans lose far more planes than the RAF.

1978

Keith Moon (above), drummer with British group The Who, dies in London after an overdose of pills. 1986

A sealed road around Australia is completed with the opening of a section between Fitzroy Crossing and Halls Creek in the Kimberley.

1996

American rapper and actor Tupac Shakur, one of the leading names in 1990s gangsta rap, is shot by an unknown assailant and dies six days later.

2010

Independent federal MPs Tony Windsor and Rob Oakeshott announce they will back Labor to rule Australia after voters delivered a hung parliament.