COUNCIL PROFIT SHARING TAX

The meaning and intention of the OPEN SPACE CONTRIBUTION appears to being misused and treated like just another tax for general revenue by Councils and Shires and thus if the ACT is not being used according to the intended law then the term should changed to reflect the true TAXING nature as indeed it has become a SHARE OF DEVELOPERS PROFITS TAX which some Councils like the Greater Dandenong Council are requiring that developers pay the several $million 'CONTRIBUTIONS TAX' prior to gaining subdivision approvals to offer OFF THE PLAN pre-sales to the public and prior to getting funding from bankers who always require pre-sales evidence before lending them the development money to proceed with providing more housing in that region.  These types of demands are resulting in no deals going through part application stage as developers would need $millions more in equity to proceed with the projects. The alternative be that Councils be required to use that OPEN SPACE CONTRIBUTIONS money for its proper intended use and to buy land for Parks & or Recreation use in the outer fringes of Melbourne or Victoria in lieu of the lack of such land availability in the inner suburban areas, rather than it going into consolidated revenue.

Councils are already buying land outside their boundaries for rubbish disposal Land Fill sites and Councils like the CITY OF MELBOURNE should be required to use those PUBLIC OPEN SPACE CONTRIBUTION collections for purchase of their own PRIVATE OPEN SPACE for use by their ratepayers outside their council boundaries.

This would increase the demand for GWZ land which is currently the cheapest land available today, it sometimes being next door to smaller parcels of land up to 40 times more valuable per square foot and the proposal a more equitable means of getting a protected "Green Wedge" Open Space supply of land instead of expecting private landlords to pay for the original Greenie plan by Liberal Party Premier - Rupert Hamer. It was Sir Rupert Hamer who came up with this socialistic plan to let the private owners pay for the Greens Lungs of Melbourne idealism which is silly considering that the whole of Victoria and Australia have more than enough government Crown Lands & designated National Parks and extesive millions of acres of green grazing farmlands providing fresh air for the major cities for the Lungs of Melbourne ideal.

The true financial stakeholders are the landowners and their bankers who are never consulted or been considered for invitation by letter for discussion; whereas the Green pauper and public housing groups seem to get all the attention as claiming to be stakeholders deserving influence in other peoples private property rights and in so doing debasing the asset cover held by the banks and putting the borrowing landowners at grave risk..which the Planning Ministers and their Department staff never consider in their deliberations.

If Victoria is to be run like a Socialist State by the Liberals then I wish they would just be honest about it, so we can decide whether to fight them from the trenches or to move to WA or QLD perhaps. Its been a 40 years punishment for GWZ landowners whereas murderers get substantially less these days.

DONT SUPPORT HOUSING FOR BAD BEHAVIOUR

Motherhood Statements are ok for political purposes, as long as the Shire Oof Yarra Ranges dont waste any more of our rates money on attempting to keep criminals, drug addicts and the agressors in domestic violence situations in our Shire. Many of these people are homeless because they cant live peacefully with their families or the general public at large. They want and expect everything for free everytime they get evicted by family or from private housing moving around with more assistance than any other group they cause problems for. These people get rent assistance of $117 pf, they get free 2 - 4 weeks rent & bond every time they claim they cant live with others so they can keep more of their centrelink payments for their bad habits. They trick the charities into giving them free food by telling more lies about kids to feed while really buying for their various addictions.

I feel it better that they be encouraged out of our Shire neighbourhoods and into areas where their behaviour will be more readily accepted and a cold night or two in a tent or park might be a good lesson to change their bad behaviours, but i urge the general public not to feel sorry for these con artists and charlatans who can play meekness when they want assistance but are really not the type you would ever want to associate with. So I urge our local councillors not to be taken in by the calls for more public housing for these rejects of society as I doubt whether they would want them living next door.

The State Government is responsible to make better use of its housing stock by weeding out those who sublet their houses/units while they live in better housing. And just look at the flashy cars in front of some public housing.

The State should do what the Qld Govt is doing and move single people out of 3 bedroom houses into 1 Bedroom units and free up larger properties for more deserving cases. They should permit spare rooms to be occupied by other relatives [for a rent to State] without getting evicted or allow their backyards to be used for caravan parking and accommodation. The State already has $billions tied up in publuc housing which just needs to be better managed not increased and rents increased at least to cover outgoings and bond rate cost of money for property where the average cost of a bedroom is nudging higher than $100,000 and when one realises that Shire rates are over $30pw there is little reason for rents to be lower than costs which for private landlords also includes insurance, land tax, cost of bank loans and now with the loss of negative gearing benefits [for 1st house], most houses should be renting for around $600pw yet public housing is still less than $100pw. A huge subsidy in my book from both government and private investors.

Of course if the Shire were honest about housing affordability it would also support the subdivision of more land for new housing instead of trying to increase Crown land holding above the current 55%.

EDITOR WANTED

Yes, Im looking for a community spirited Editor or writer who can better put my daily views into better written english. The volunteer position might better suit a budding young writer who wants more exposure so that he might get other paid jobs in copywriting or similar.

UNIONS & GREENS POLICY CAUSE HUGE JOB LOSSES

 Gina Reinhardt tried to tell our blinkered Federal Labor government that with cheaper wages available overseas of around $2 per day and the increasing costs of wages in Australia was threatening our competitiveness in both Minerals exploration and Export income, but the Treasure Mr. Wayne Swan brushed it off as being inconsequential last week. A serious issue swept under the carpet by our Federal Treasurer proves he is living in the dark...head totally in the sand OR a very good actor. Mr. Swan is ignoring that what is in the best interests of Gina coincides with Australia’s best interests too. It’s called EXPORT INCOME which earns us tax revenue. If China can get its iron ore from African Mines where wages are 150 times cheaper than in Australia, then ALL Australians need to worry even if the Treasurer has his blinkers on.

A classic example of what Apartment builders are now doing is in the following story... reading between the lines...a reader would realize that Lend Lease is IMPORTING the timber frames AND it will SAVE ON CONSTRUCTION COSTS & WAGES as it takes only several weeks rather than several years to build a ten storey apartment complex. The increased use of timber for housing must go against Greens Party policy, but more timber from forests will be needed and not all timbers will come from Certified sustainably managed forests into the future.

Forests are a renewable resource and Lend Lease is building the tallest timber building in the world. The building is constructed from cross-laminated timber, which Lend Lease say has a structural strength similar to concrete and steel.

“Concrete and steel buildings are carbon intensive but timber, as well as being renewable, has the advantage of storing carbon. Timbers used are also sourced from certified sustainably managed forests,” says Lend Lease’s Murray Coleman.

“With the structure being built entirely from CLT, Forté will reduce CO2 equivalent emissions by more than 1,400 tones when compared to concrete and steel – the equivalent of removing 345 cars from our roads.”

A survey found that 67% of respondents said they would live in the 10 Storey timber apartments in Docklands. The question is now whether the timber will be sourced locally to maintain jobs locally for flow on jobs or are the Greens Party wanting to shut down more local industries so we will need to import more goods from China? And please remember readers...that anything we manufacture in Australia can also be manufactured much cheaper overseas...as Gina Reinhardt is trying to warn our blinkered government...so with this knowledge in mind, the only people in real jobs will be politicians and the public circuses which are helping foreign workers replace more local jobs. Who are our politicians really helping?

Has the penny finally dropped with One Union has at long last starting to show concern for the potential loss of current and future jobs in Tasmania forestry and Mining  when National Secretary of The Australian Workers' Union, Paul Howes, said on ABC last night that it will be objecting to the proposal of the Greens coalition party member in Tasmania to Heritage list more forests. Mr. Howes admitted that there would be no jobs for the next generation of Tasmanians and they would have to move away from Tasmania for work or otherwise be dependent on welfare if the Heritage listing of the Tarkine Region.

 

Paul Howes said a blanket listing of the whole region on the National Heritage List would bring forward the closure of mines at Rosebery and Savage River.

"Mining is a crucial part of the economy of North West Tasmania – a region that already has an unemployment rate of 8.4 per cent, well above the national rate of 5.2 per cent.

"Destroying the mining industry will lead to further economic and social disadvantage in North West Tasmania."