Robin Hocking’s future is looking bleak with the State Government planning to charge him $80,000 per hectare when he sells-up. 27383 Picture: Meagan Rogers
By Melissa Grant
LANDHOLDERS in Officer have labelled a proposed State Government infrastructure contribution scheme a “rip off”, saying they will lose hundreds of thousands of dollars if they want to sell-up.
Robin Hocking, 72, and John Holtham, 61, will have to pay $80,000 per hectare if they sell their properties – leaving them with little profit from their 20-plus year investments.
Both men say the scheme has left them hamstrung and will adversely affect their nest eggs.
Each pays high council rates and will have to hang on to their properties until development booms in Officer – likely more than a decade away – to make selling worthwhile.
“This is a serious disaster,” Mr Hocking said.
“I can’t sell my land now because of this. The government is doing this, I presume, because they think people are going to get a windfall profit and they want money for infrastructure.”
The State Government’s Growth Areas Infrastructure Contribution scheme applies to all land that was brought into the Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) in or after 2005.
A flat rate of $80,000 per hectare is applied to land brought into the boundary in 2005, and $95,000 for land brought in or after 2009.
The scheme is being introduced to “reflect” the potential of land to be developed in the future.
Mr Hocking and Mr Holtham say their council rates have risen dramatically since their properties were included in the UGB zone.
Mr Holtham paid $8800 in council rates last year, a 65 per cent increase on his previous year’s bill, for the 11.9 hectare patch he bought on Stephens Road 22 years ago.
Mr Hocking’s 2008 rate bill was $18,000, up from $7000 in 2007, for his 90-hectare Handford Lane property which he has owned for 25 years.
Mr Hocking, who has a background in real estate, said many residents who wanted to sell would be hit hard by the contribution scheme.
He estimated that landowners in the Pakenham/Officer area would be pouring 50 per cent of their property’s value into the scheme’s coffers when they sold up.
Mr Holtham said: “Being so far down the track (development in Officer) the value isn’t in it.”
Mr Hocking said it was wrong to put a blanket contribution on land which could be used for employment, residential or open space purposes.
“If it was a percentage of land value paid at the time of the development then you could understand it,” he said.
Cardinia Shire Council chief executive Garry McQuillan said development in that area of Officer was anticipated to occur in 10 years time or later.
“The Cardinia growth area in which Officer is located will develop over the next 10 to 25 years to provide approximately 75,000 jobs for the community,” he said.
Mr McQuillan said the council calculated rates according to land use. The agriculture rate in the UGB, which includes areas such as Officer, is less than the municipal base rate, he said.
A spokeswoman for Planning Minister Justin Madden said the Growth Areas Infrastructure Contribution scheme was announced on 2 December and that Parliament was likely to consider the legislation mid-year.
She said payment was triggered by changes in the land title through transfer of the property, and that in general settlement would be when the contribution was paid by the landowner.
It was anticipated that further detail would be included in the legislation, she said.
