Why hide valuations?
The Age published on Monday a six page special report on the vast wealth of the Catholic Church and its strenuous efforts to avoid allowing any individual or organisation, including all levels of government, accessing accurate details on the current value of its property holdings and income.
The church has apparently hidden the true value of its property around the state (and nation) by using historic valuations based on the acquisition date and hiding the details of its vast property portfolio behind a trust.
The Age reporters finally found one way in through following the trail of valuations for property owned by the church in Victoria required for the 2013 fire services levy imposed on all Victorian properties in the wake of Black Saturday.
They made the following comment relating to the fact that after much negotiating with councils around the state “most co-operated" in supplying the current valuations for church held property in their areas and “only four refused to provide the information: Cardinia, Mornington Peninsula, Baw Baw and Swan Hill Shires."
The Catholic Church has consistently cried poor over paying just compensation to victims of sexual abuse and even after the Royal Commission exposed the scale and horror of the abuse and the appalling way the Church dealt with survivors who reported it to them, it has capped maximum payout to individual victims $150,00.
Why is Baw Baw Shire so reluctant to provide the Age with the valuation data for its considerable holdings around our shire. Why assist the church in covering up its huge wealth ?
Carol Bullimore, Warragul
Huge Bouquets to the Drouin, Warragul Apex Club.
With only six members they ran the free BBQ at the Queen’s Baton Relay Event.
The large crowd was served a delicious selection of BBQ food. A special bouquet to Jack, the young son of an Apexian who took charge of the free fruit table. Well done Jack and Apex
Bricks to Baw Baw Shire for their errors.
Supplementary rate charges on top of our rates which are more than all my friends in other shires pay.
Average $2000 per house. What does that get us? Not much. Your error. Plans and permits done at big expense. You stuffed up wear it until next year.
Bricks to Baw Baw Shire. Told in November the wait to get windows cleaned was three to four weeks which meant before Christmas as was usual. It didn’t happen so I rang in January to be told a lot of people were waiting (why quote three or four weeks?) and would be done by the end of January.
Still waiting and it is February already. As only one window cleaning allowed per calendar year this now means when I eventualy get my windows cleaned I will miss out on my usual end of winter cleaning again until 2019.