Proposed statewide waste levy
King Island residents and businesses could take a financial hit if a push by the State Government for a proposed statewide waste levy goes ahead in its present form.
The Government plan is to introduce a charge of $20 for every tonne of waste going to landfill by the end of 2021, which will cost King Island about $40,000 per annum. The plan is to increase this to $60 per tonne or $120,000 per annum within four years.
The compulsory levy is proposed in the Government’s Waste and Resource Recovery Bill 2021 (the Bill), which was recently sent to local government for comment.
The King Island Council’s submission to the Government estimates the compulsory levy would result in significant increases in property rates and waste service charges for very little, if any, benefit for the community and waste management.
The Council argues that the statewide levy would add significant extra costs for island residents and businesses, who already contend with costs 20% to 30% or higher than mainland Tasmanian urban centres.
Monies raised by the levy will fund board fees and administrative costs for a new authority called the Tasmanian Waste Resource Recovery Board with remaining funds allocated to regional and statewide resource recovery facilities and programs.
The Council is urging the State Government to take into consideration the unique scale and physical circumstances of the Bass Strait islands and the inability of island residents and business to use mainland facilities due to very high transportation costs.
Council is concerned that creating a centralised, top-down bureaucratic structure and simplistic “one size fits all” approach risks undermining King Island’s local, community-based resource recovery and waste management plan.
A copy of Council’s submission is available here.