Thursday 16 August 2012

FARM LAND PRICE MAINTENANCE

I made an interesting discovery today....that it appears that accoding to a submission to the State Government the following organisations listed below support the keeping of farmland prices as low as possible by [read red statement below]  .....

The price of land in Yarra Ranges is determined by its rural residential value (up to areas of

about 30 ha.). This makes it difficult for existing enterprises to expand their business in a
nearby location, particularly for the crop sectors at the lower end of the scale for net returns
per ha. This includes vegetables, orchard fruit and viticulture. A number of businesses have
expanded by purchasing properties outside the Shire, particularly in northern Victoria. While
this provides some diversification for managing climate risk, it does increase costs of
production, either running two sets of post-harvest facilities or returning crops to the home
property for post-harvest handling.
A solution to this problem could be to expand existing tenement controls to broader areas of the Green Wedge zones, so land would not have rural residential value, but this would meet with widespread opposition from the majority of existing landholders.
This submission is supported by the following organisations:
Australian Rubus Growers Association
Centre for Agriculture and Business - Yarra Valley Inc.
Flowers Victoria
Nursery and Garden Industry Victoria
Victorian Cherry Association Inc.
Victorian Strawberry Growers Association
Yarra ValleyWine Growers Association

YARRA RANGES SUBMISSION TO THE OUTER SUBURBAN/INTERFACE SERVICES AND DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE OF PARLIAMENT
INQUIRY INTO SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT OF AGRIBUSINESS
IN OUTER SUBURBAN MELBOURNE
January 2009

Tuesday 14 August 2012

FAILURE OF PUBLIC POLICY ON FARM OWNERSHIP

Why are so many of our current and previous politicians so intent in diverting investment money away from local real estate such as farms and encourage the accumulation of foreign and local financial assets through the impost of a Superannuation Levy system on employees wages? While we think we are so smart with investing overseas on questionable easy investments,like the Prime Mortgage Funds, Shares and other financial instruments; the much smarter asians are buying up prime farming land using our billions spent on imported good. The imported good will sooner or later end up in landfill but the farms will still be producing food for asian countries.

Surely others can see the stupidity in public policy when both politicians and the public are so mezmerised into believing will generate a safe retirement without buying any local real estate. IMO I cant see how this direction will ever have the desired effect other than to dispossess another generation of a decent retirement as more than one extra financial crisis will surely wipe out the value of most financial assets.

Well actually, i do believe i know why Peter Costello Tresurer in the Howard government indroduced taxation incentives to encourage the sale of property to be invested into Superannuation Funds...was implemented to discourage property inflation during the Howard years which was at a high risk of occurring during those years, and explains why the govt decided to pay off debt and not reduce taxes or dish out other benefits.

IMO most Australian well watered farmland is substantially undervalued by locals but my views are confirmed by the contuing buying spree of more prime farmlands and probably helping to keep our $A higher than otherwise might have been the case. What is not known is whether the foreign buyers are using their own capital reserves or whether they are borrowing locally to fund purchses in both mining and farming assets.  Too complex for me to really say...only the RBA would know.

The 9% Levy soon to be increased through bribery to 12% is no more than fools gold which in my opinion which on top of excessively high wages is assisting in the demise of Australian Industry which in addition with Carbon taxes are forcing such companies as BlueScope Steel to reduce expensive staff in Australia and employ Asian staff at around $1.50- $3 per hour.No super Levy, No Workers Comp, No EPA conditions, No Carbon Taxes, No Maternity/ Paternity Leave or Holiday Loading...maybe just some bribery?

The remaining Private Sector is then left to support the unemployable, the old, the sick and the Local, State and Federal govt workers whose benefits are underwritten through taxation. Are we going back to the Kings & Serfs of old? Where the King and his men decided what the serfs could do with their land and how much in taxes they should pay to support the King & his entourage of administrators?

Friday 10 August 2012

VICTORIA'S LOST $BILLIONS TO BE PAID BY PROPERTY OWNERS

In my opinion progressive State Governments in Victoria Australia have failed miserably and been costing local property ratepayers bigtime because it has failed to get the Local Government Defined Benefit Superannuation Scheme funding and investment arrangements right. In my living memory I recall that ratepayers have had to kick in $billions for the loses incurred by the Local Government Superannuation Scheme and local governments other merchant banking failures on at least three occassions.
Others might know the history better but i seem to recall the Kilmore area Council lifting rates by a massive 100% some years ago to cover for the losses incurred when their co-operative money market market MAV venture with other councils went broke, and during the Paul Keating recession we had to have other super funds went broke when the State Bank went broke. We forget history repeating itself but our policy makers are NOT protecting we ratepayers.

In my opinion it would be safer if NO NEW funds were put back in to cover the losses of the Local Government which are now running to several $billion because we would be risking losing it all again at the next financial crisis of which i estimate there will be several more. The Defined Benefit Schemes would be better funded on a Pay As You Go basis for current pensioners and so Councils would know how much it was really costing to employ all those extra staff and perhaps be a little more prudent in their hirings of staff in the future..

I urge Ratepayers to look at this issue to have the State Government pass the required legislation to stop this taxing drain on property owners and contact your local MP's to demand a change to protect our own incomes. If you dont, no one else will.