By Denis Bright
Amidst the usual tensions associated with Australia Day, there was an underlying commitment to a more progressive national consensus after the unfortunate defeat of last year’s Voice referendum.
The eve of Australia Day brought the announcement of progressive tax rate changes as summarised by Lowe Lippmann-Chartered Accountants and Business Advisors.
The long delay in implementing these tax changes was a painful but politically strategic move. Lesser national leaders could have acted more spontaneously to break election commitments to Stage 3 Tax Cuts soon after 22 May 2022. An even more foolish errand would have opposed the Stage 3 Tax Cuts from Opposition. This would have provided oxygen for a federal LNP campaign on aspirational rewards for middle income Australians.
After almost two years in government, the Albanese Government has proved that it can operate a neoliberal economy more effectively than the LNP. The MYEFO statement from December 2023 offered that capacity to review Stage 3 Tax changes with a high degree of popular support.
Having inherited a quite unequal neoliberal economy in 2022, the Albanese Government can also work to attain a more equitable society as measured by current levels of Gini coefficients for comparative developed countries as estimated by OECD data.
Action on this cost-of-living problems is popular with the electorate and restores faith in mainstream political processes. My previous article on Queensland’s state government initiatives was covered for The AIMN (13 December 2023).
Not surprisingly, this commitment to the politics of improvements to cost-of-living challenges has been incorporated into Tracey Price’s campaign to become Lord Mayor of Brisbane on 16 March 2024.
Tracey Price is reaching out to the remnants of Labor heartland base which failed to respond more decisively to Labor’s BCC Campaign in 2020 in Municipal Wards like Northgate, Doboy, Bracken Ridge and Brisbane Central. Although there were significant swings to Labor through Green preferences in 2020, there were no increases in Labor’s representation on Council.
This local campaign initiative contrasts with austerity measures from the long-surviving LNP administration in Brisbane. Budgetary problems have resulted in urgent austerity measures:
“Brisbane City Council will reduce its budget by hundreds of millions of dollars in a cost cutting exercise by Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner to deal with inflation.
The move, which comes just months after the budget was handed down in June, will equate to a 10 per cent reduction in council spending.
Mr Schrinner said about $400 million would be cut from the budget but the decision was necessary to keep rates down.
The savings measure will include putting a pause on the Toowong to West End green bridge, delaying the delivery of $5 million in shade on Victoria Bridge, and cutting the public art component of the Brisbane Metro line.”
This emergent BCC Council Budget deficit should have been corrected in the 2023-24 budget as presented on 14 June 2024. Despite generous state government support to the BCC which amounted to 15 per cent of total income, Council proceeded with a budget deficit of $1.1 billion that needed to be trimmed back some months later:
In contrast, Labor’s lord mayoral candidate Tracey Price has announced a raft of new transport policies, including a $1 billion investment in road infrastructure over the next year.
Labor’s Fare Reduction Initiative
In a move that Labor says could save commuters about $1,000 per year, zone one and zone two bus fares, which include all of Brisbane, would be reduced by 50 per cent over the next four years.
Opening public pools throughout the summer holidays with just a two-dollar entry fee has been a popular move. The offer will expire at the end of February. It is within the resources of the BCC to adjust rates and changes so that this offer can be extended permanently. Recreational facilities at some BCC swimming pools are outstanding and are a solace to families who were experiencing cost-of-living challenges at the end of the holidays when accounts were due at public schools for computers and other essential resources for school children.
If Labor wants to win by a landslide as in some of the iconic election results from Labor’s long period in office after the 1960 credit squeeze under Lord Mayor Clem Jones era (1961-75), consideration could be given to a restructuring of rates and charges which provide most of the cash flows for BCC’s $4.3 billion dollar budget. BCC is too soft on levying rates and charges for major high rise commercial developments. These developments distort traffic flows and add to other infrastructure expenses. Developer contributions were projected to fall by almost 30 per cent. Rates and utility charges rose by 5.4 per cent since the 2022-23 budget. Labor’s alternative costings could be part of a very credible election campaign strategy for 16 March 2024.
This year’s BCC election is a test of Labor grassroots agendas for responsible changes in the revenue base and service delivery options. The results will have great implications for future state and federal election campaigns to roll back the heavy emphasis on more elitist rhetorical agendas. Such approaches brought poor election results in Queensland at federal and local government levels across Queensland for a decade.
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