LOCAL GOVERNMENT AMENDMENT (GENERAL RATE EXEMPTIONS) BILL 2010
Reverend the Hon. Dr GORDON MOYES [5.14 p.m.]: I rise on behalf of Family First to speak on the Local Government Amendment (General Rate Exemptions) Bill 2010. I believe I can speak from personal experience on this bill. The object of the bill is to amend the Local Government Act 1993 to enable the separate valuation of parts of a parcel of land owned by a religious body, public benevolent institution or public charity that is used partly in a manner that is exempt from rating and partly in a manner that is not exempt from rating if rates are to be levied on the non-exempt part.
In my 27 years as Superintendent of Wesley Mission and senior minister of the church of the mission I developed over 500 properties across New South Wales in virtually every major centre in suburban, regional and remote rural New South Wales. I was always pleased at the exemption from paying general rates on some of our properties when they were used totally for charitable purposes, as most were. I speak, therefore, as one personally involved in this issue and speak of what I know. Where the total property was used by Wesley Mission for commercial interests to support its fundraising initiatives we always offered to pay the council full rates as costed, including costs of roads, rubbish removal, maintenance of footpaths and the like, much to the appreciation of the local councils concerned. Other Christian charities also followed that example.
At times, however, some of the Wesley Mission properties did in fact let space to various commercial undertakings that were not exempt, and there was no proper mechanism in the Local Government Act 1993 to allow the local council to partially rate the non-exempt part. I argued that paying rates was only fair as we used the local roads, the local garbage collection and other council facilities. This led inevitably to confusion and to different approaches by different councils. Some councils charged on the whole parcel of land because part of the land was commercially let, while others provided a full rate of exemption on the whole parcel of land because it belonged to Wesley Mission. There was no way of predicting which course would be followed by any particular council until we had face-to-face negotiations. This made budgeting for on-costs for over 500 properties in almost every municipal area in New South Wales extremely difficult.
The bill remedies that ambiguity and will provide a consistent approach to the granting of partial rate exemptions where part of a parcel of land is commercially let to a non-exempt body. This clarification has been needed for some time and I am pleased to see that it will be good for public benevolent institutions, public charities and religious bodies to have that consistency of purpose across all local councils and shires in the State. I note that this bill is supported by the Local Government and Shires Associations, as I would expect. I also note that this was discussed by Wesley Mission with the various Catholic archdioceses, which originally brought this issue to the fore. Therefore, on behalf of Family First and many of those charities with which I have been associated, I am pleased to support this sensible bill.