Tuesday, 30 April 2024

Mornington Peninsula Shire Council

Sam GROTH (Nepean) (13:18): I just want to put on the record my opposition to the 3.3 per cent development levy that is being proposed by the Mornington Peninsula Shire Council, which was put forward at a council meeting about two weeks ago. This levy is completely out of line. Maybe it has been generated through the council wanting to do something in this housing space, a space that the government is possibly dropping the ball on, but councillors need to just stick in their lane and take care of the things that ratepayers want them to take care of – roads, rates and rubbish – and make sure they do those first.

I just want to explain the way that council has defined the development levy and what a developer is. In this case a developer is any applicant – so anybody looking to build a house of any description on the Mornington Peninsula that adds supply. Now, in a housing crisis, if John and Jenny buy a block and want to build a house on that, why should they be charged 3.3 per cent to build a house that they are going to live and raise a family in? If they decide to increase supply in anything, anyone will have to pay this 3.3 per cent levy, and I would urge certain councillors on the Mornington Peninsula shire, including Cr Sarah Race and Cr Despi O’Connor, who are both card-carrying members of the Labor Party: if they want to dive into the housing space, maybe they should talk to members on the other side of the chamber, members of their own political party, before they start trying to dive into the space that the state government should be taking care of.