Canberra Liberals leader Elizabeth Lee has promised her party will deliver a ‘fresh opportunity for Canberra’ in her 2024-25 ACT Budget reply. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
Lower rates for all Canberrans with average savings up to $2000 in the first term of a Liberal Government – that’s the big takeaway from the Opposition’s 2024-25 Budget reply.
Opposition Leader Elizabeth Lee said her party would deliver a “fairer, more transparent rates system” that would include a 2.2 per cent cap on rates (based on the 10-year average of the wage price index).
“This means that no Canberra household will pay more than a 2.2 per cent increase on their rates bill in the first term of a Canberra Liberals government,” she said.
“Yes, Canberrans will continue to pay rates, and yes, they will continue to increase, but it will be at a much slower rate.
“This is in stark contrast to the 6 to 8 per cent increases that Labor and the Greens gouged Canberrans with over the past decade.”
The party would establish an independent valuer general that Ms Lee said would be separate from and outside of the ACT Revenue Office.
“This means that every Canberran can see exactly how the unimproved value of their land is assessed and how it impacts on the calculation of their rates,” she said.
“This is in stark contrast to the opaque way in which Labor and the Greens have calculated rates.”
The rates scheme would be re-assessed after the Liberals’ first term of government based on the economic and cost-of-living conditions at that stage.
Ms Lee promised this rates policy would not result in cuts to government services and that her party would continue the phasing out of stamp duty, although the timeline might change.
This rate promise is part of a broader economic plan that Ms Lee foreshadowed would be announced in the lead-up to the October election.
She said her party’s policies were all about providing a “fresh opportunity for Canberra“.
“The Canberra Liberals’ priority will be to build a better future for all Canberrans, individually and as a community, for today, tomorrow and into the future.
“For too many Canberrans, [the 2024-25 government] budget was a missed opportunity to deliver real relief.”
Other priorities of a Lee Liberal government would include:
- “Genuine choice” when it came to housing options, including releasing more land for detached housing.
- A focus on health outcomes that would be accessible and affordable, such as getting rid of payroll tax for GPs and an ACT-wide rollout of RSV immunisation for babies and at-risk young children.
- “Balanced and responsible management” of the budget.
- Turning the ACT’s education system into a nation-leading model.
- A starting point of saying “yes” to business, “unless there’s a genuine reason to say no”.
- Putting taxpayer money back into suburb maintenance, as outlined in its Putting Your Suburb First policy.
- A “people-focused” public transport system without stage 2B of light rail
- $65 million in cost-of-living relief measures.
Further details on some of those points are expected in the coming months.
Ms Lee ended her budget reply speech with a message to all Canberrans, urging them to use their vote in the election wisely.
“Your vote is valuable; do not waste it on those who no longer value you. Do not miss this opportunity,” she said.
“You deserve a government that is accessible, transparent, and accountable. You deserve a government that will serve you and put you at the centre of government.
“My commitment to you is that a Canberra Liberals government I lead will do just that.”
Find out what was in the 2024-25 ACT Budget and what rates you’ll be paying over the next financial year.
Loading ...
