City wants more parking tax Author: Mathew Dunckley Date: 28/10/2005 Publication: The Financial Review
The Victorian government's key ally on its controversial central business district car parking congestion tax, Melbourne City Council, is demanding a bigger share of the cake.
The council has voted to ask the state government to give it a proportion of revenue from the levy (13 per cent) not the fixed $5 million per annum initially agreed.
The council will also demand that funds from the levy be ring-fenced for "sustainable transport improvements" that help the city in place of the existing promise of "transport initiatives and road upgrades".
The council wants the government to consult annually on how the proceeds from the levy are spent. It also wants a review of the tax after 12 months.
The levy, paid by long term car park owners, will start at $400 a year and double in 2007. The government forecasts it will bring in just under $40 million a year.
Planning and environment committee chairwoman Catherine Ng said the council wanted to ensure funds from the levy were used to relieve congestion in the central city.
"It is important to make it clear that it is not a revenue grab by the state government or the council we should be accountable for the money that we spend," Cr Ng said. "The purpose of this levy is to fund alternatives [to car use] or to reduce congestion in the city and the only way to do it is to have sustainable transport improvements in Melbourne."
In other cities where levies had been implemented revenue had increased and it made sense that the council's share grew with any extra income in the future, she said.
Environment Victoria Marcus Godinho welcomed the council's proposal and said sustainable transport in the form of cycling, walking and improved public transport was crucial to tackling congestion.
"If we are going to encourage people out of cars and tackle the congestion crisis then we must have public transport that is reliable and encouraging to commuters," he said.
Campbel Giles, a spokeswoman for Treasurer John Brumby, said the government was moving ahead on the basis of a $5 million cut for the council.
"We have already committed to the $5 million and we are happy to continue negotiations and discussions with the Melbourne City Council," she said.
Greens councillor Fraser Brindley described the process as a "convoluted mess".
Cr Brindley said the state government should show clear thinking and commit funds to purely sustainable transport.
"It really is losing the plot to start spending this money on roads," he said.
"If you are going to put a levy on that transport you are trying to discourage, you need to spend money on the transport you want to encourage."
But, he said, with the relevant bill at its third reading, he was not hopeful of winning much change from the government.
The government had already flagged that revenue would be spent on the Metropolitan Transport Plan, which included roads but also improvements to encourage cycling, walking and public transport.
Legislation to implement the tax to pave the way for the levy's introduction on January 1 is currently before the state parliament.
KEY POINTS
* Melbourne council wants the $40m parking tax reserved for transport improvements.
* The government says the tax will bring in just under $40 million a year.