Parliamentary Speeches
Crown Land Rent Increases ( 21/09/2006)
Mr DONALD PAGE (Ballina—Deputy Leader of The Nationals) [5.56 p.m.]: I draw the attention of the House to my serious concerns about the Labor Government's approach to the charging of rent on Crown land where community facilities are located. The State Government's unreasonable policy of increasing rent for Crown land, in one case by as much as 470 per cent, is threatening the viability of many community facilities. After wasting the proceeds of 10 years of economic sunshine in New South Wales due to the property boom, this greedy Government is charging exorbitant rents for community facilities, showing that it has no regard for the importance of community facilities, their role in keeping communities together and the social benefits they provide. In the early 1990s a deal was negotiated between the New South Wales Coalition Government and Ballina Shire Council to allow the council to lease a portion of Crown land adjacent to the Richmond River for the purposes of providing a central location for the Ballina Visitor Information Centre, the Ballina Public Library and a community function facility, known as the Richmond Room. This land provided an ideal location for these community facilities. It is located within the central business district, it allows easy access for both residents and visitors to the area, and it is in close proximity to the picturesque Richmond River.
However, Ballina Shire Council recently received notification from the Department of Lands that the rent for the land will be substantially increased. The council was informed the rent would be increased from the current figure of about $19,000 to $90,000 per annum—a 470 per cent increase! It must be noted that these three community facilities on Crown land cost council a total of $810,000 a year to run. The net cost to council per annum to operate the library is $450,000, the Visitor Information Centre $350,000 and the Richmond Room $10,000. Council is in no way profiting financially from operating these services. To the contrary, it is costing ratepayers $810,000 to run plus the original construction costs paid for by local ratepayers. Following objections by Ballina Shire Council to the 470 per cent rent rise, the Lands Department agreed to reduce the rent to $45,000 per annum. However, this still represents a rise of 240 per cent. This is simply not viable for the council, which already outlays $810,000 to provide these important facilities for the community. The council has requested the Department of Lands again to revise this rent increase, and has offered to pay $22,500 per annum, an increase of approximately 20 per cent, which is still quite high. They are still awaiting a response. The New South Wales Government is making a blatant money grab at the expense of vital community facilities. This is simply a revenue-raising exercise that blatantly displays the Government's lack of understanding of the importance of public facilities to a community. But unfortunately the Government's money-grabbing approach to Crown Land rent does not stop there.
The Ballina Shire Council has also been advised by the Department of Lands that in order for a planned, and very-much needed, community centre at Lennox Head to go ahead, the centre must pay a commercially based rent to the New South Wales Government. This is a ludicrous notion as a community centre is simply by nature not a profit-raising development and the extra rental cost will only jeopardise the council's financial ability to provide the community centre. The Lennox Head community is rapidly growing and is in urgent need of a place where the community can come together, socialise, and utilise it for community events, such as concerts and celebrations. The council has undertaken significant planning for the development of this community centre at Williams Reserve, including a Plan of Management for Williams Reserve, which was endorsed in 2002. The community and the council have dedicated countless hours towards developing plans for the most suitable community centre and community precinct at Williams Reserve, yet the Labor Government has effectively thwarted that plan by making it a condition that the centre generate substantial revenue to line the New South Wales Government's coffers.
It must be noted that the initial request for the Government to acquire Williams Reserve as Crown land in 1952 was made on behalf of the Lennox Head Progress and Ratepayers Association by the council. The Department of Lands' agreement was conditional on council paying half the cost of the acquisition and all processing costs. So it comes as a cruel slap in the face to Ballina shire ratepayers that they are now being told by the New South Wales Government that the centre must raise revenue, purely to bolster the New South Wales Treasury, when the council paid half of the original acquisition costs of the land. The council is expending significant monies on building the community centre. The additional burden of paying a commercially based rent could seriously jeopardise the future of the community centre.
The New South Wales Government is putting revenue raising above the needs of the Ballina shire community in both Ballina and Lennox Head. The greedy Labor Government in Sydney is effectively depriving communities of much-needed facilities. I urge the New South Wales Government to reconsider its hefty rent rises and take into account the importance of community facilities on Crown land.
