The Courier-Mail story published on Thursday 17 July 2014 does not reflect the statement provided by the Redland City Mayor Karen Williams in regard to the impact of the repeal of the Carbon tax.
The exact statement provided by the Mayor on 16 July was as follows:
“Council has absorbed the majority of the carbon tax impost for the past two years. In our current budget we have absorbed the majority of an estimated $12 million in additional external costs, rather than pass the impost on to residents in the form of higher rates. We have delivered the smallest increase in headline rates of any comparable SEQ council, for the third successive year. Any savings from the repeal of the carbon tax will be passed on to residents by reinvestment in our city.”
You may also like these stories
The Mayor’s statement clearly indicated that any savings would be passed on to residents. The Courier-Mail article stated:
‘Despite initially outlining a $17.50 hit to ratepayers from the carbon tax, Redland Mayor Karen Williams said her council had absorbed most of the extra costs for two years, but would not be reducing rates when the tax ceased.’
While Redland City Council has not yet determined how the repeal of the carbon tax will be reflected in future rates, the Mayor of Redland City has clearly indicated that any identified saving would be passed on to residents and reinvested in the city.
Carbon tax savings that are passed on to Council from the cessation of the carbon tax will be passed on to the community through reduced cost to Council’s bottom line and reduced pressure on future rate increases. The Mayor will be writing to the Federal Government to seek clarification on the details and timeframe for carbon tax rebates to local authorities under the repeal legislation. Following this detail Council will be in a better position to know how the Carbon Tax repeal will affect Redland City.
