Meeting invite to minister Madden

AN ACTION group formed to fight a proposed land tax has invited Planning Minister Justin Madden to its next public meeting.
Taxed Out spokesman Michael Hocking said Mr Madden had been invited to the meeting at Oakwood Riding School, Clyde North, on 15 July.
“He’s been sent an email to be invited,” Mr Hocking said. “He has publicly stated in Parliament he would go to these meetings, and he hasn’t gone to one.”
Last Thursday, the Growth Areas Authority ran consultation sessions at the Balla Balla Community Centre in Cranbourne to inform residents about recent changes to the Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) investigation area in Casey.
Those landholders included in the final area will be subject to a tax of $95,000 per hectare when they sell.
Landholders brought into the UGB in 2005, including those in Officer, will have to pay $80,000 as part of the Growth Areas Infrastructure Contribution (GAIC) scheme.
Mr Hocking was expecting a large turnout to the Taxed Out public meeting, which starts at 7.30pm.
“We’ve got more and more concerned residents and even people outside the UGB who think they will be caught up in this in the future,” he said.
“If the State Government wants to raise taxes all it has to do is move the boundary.”