Prosper Australia submission to Inquiry into Local Government Funding and Fiscal Sustainability (House of Representatives Standing Committee on Regional Development, Infrastructure and Transport) – 19 November 2025 Introduction Prosper Australia welcomes the Committee’s examination of local government funding and the…
[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”] From July 2025, Victoria’s long-standing Fire Services Property Levy (FSPL) will become the Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund (ESVF). This higher property tax will fund…
Prosper Australia is an economic research organisation founded in the Georgist tradition of political philosophy. Our work centres on the monopolistic nature of land and how it shapes our economy and society. We have a long history of research into…
The year of 2020 was a shocking year for many reasons, from the bushfires to a global pandemic. But there were some positives too, especially for land tax reform. Here are some of the developments that should give us some…
Meander Valley Council in Tasmania will sell a family’s home at public auction in three weeks unless they pay their overdue rates. This reluctant display of the authority of government illustrates the limits and strengths of land title in Australia.…
Melbourne City Council is wringing its hands again over developer land vagrancy – prime sites deliberately held vacant or with disused, dangerous buildings to assist developer lobbying of government for rezoning or advantageous building permits. The issue last hit the…
In April last year, the High Court of Australia affirmed the right of a West Tasmanian council to levy rates on the seabed within its municipal boundaries. This precedent means, in a legal sense, land is land, even underwater. It…
The High Court of Australia has affirmed the right of a west Tasmanian council to levy rates on the seabed. It is still land, even underwater. Council saw the land under eight marine farming leases as ‘rateable land’, Tasmania’s Valuer…
Published as The Planned Obsolescence of the Public Interest in Online Opinion A fascinating power play continues in the debate over vertical fiscal imbalance. The strategic intent is prevalent from federal to local politics, where the health of the public…
The Andrews government is capping local governments rate rises to CPI after fifteen years of six per cent rises in a low inflation environment. Minister for Local Government Natalie Hutchins’ Fair Go Rates System, administered by the Essential Services Commission,…