Kim Wilkie (Swan, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I present to the House two petitions, one signed by 2,500 people from the City of Belmont in my electorate and one from the Belmont Council itself. Since January Westralia Airports Corporation, the leaseholder of Perth Airport, has refused to make its full rates-equivalent payments to the City of Belmont and has withheld over $400,000. The chair of Westralia Airports Corporation is David Crawford. Mr Crawford is also Acting President of the National Competition Council, which is responsible for ensuring competitive neutrality.

The citizens’ petition draws to the attention of the House that the Westralia Airports Corporation leases the Perth Airport from the Commonwealth government. The WAC must make ‘rates equivalent payments’ to the City of Belmont under clause 24.2 of the lease. The reason for this is the federal government’s commitment to the principles of competitive neutrality, which in this instance ensure that the Westralia Airports Corporation does not have a competitive advantage over other commercial operators who must make annual rate payments.

In accordance with the lease, the city has issued a notice to the WAC for a rates equivalent payment in the 2005-06 budget of $2.1 million. However, the WAC has advised the council it will only pay $1.691 million. The underpayment of rates leaves the city with a substantial budget shortfall. The impact of this will be a significant decrease in works and services in the local community and may result in an increase in the amount of rates other ratepayers will have to pay.

The petition calls on the House to require the Minister for Transport and Regional Services, who is responsible for administering Westralia Airport Corporation’s lease, to enforce the lease and make the WAC pay, and continue to pay, full rates-equivalent payments to the City of Belmont. I commend both petitions and congratulate the signatories on their passion for their community.

The petitions read as follows—

To the Honourable the Speaker and members of the House of Representatives assembled in Parliament:

The petition of certain Citizens of Australia draws to the attention of the House that:

• The Westralia Airports Corporation (“WAC”) leases the Perth Airport from the Commonwealth Government.
• The WAC must make “rates equivalent payments” to the City of Belmont under clause 24.2 of the lease. The reason for this is the Federal Government’s commitment to the principles of competitive neutrality, which in this instance ensure that the WAC does not have a competitive advantage over other commercial operators who must make annual rate payments to their relevant local government authority.
• In accordance with the lease, the City has issued a notice to the WAC for a rates equivalent payment in the 2005/6 Financial Year of $2.1 million, however the WAC has advised the City that it will not pay the full amount of the rates equivalent payment and will only make a $1.691 million rates equivalent payment.
• The underpayment of rates by $409,000 leaves the City of Belmont with a substantial budget shortfall. The impact of this will be a significant decrease of works and services in the local community and may result in an increase in the amount of rates that other ratepayers in the Belmont community will have to pay.

Your petitioners therefore request the House to require the Minister for Transport and Regional Services, who is responsible for administering the lease, to enforce the lease and make the WAC pay, and continue to pay, full rates equivalent payments to the City of Belmont.

from 2,505 citizens

To the Honourable the Speaker and members of the House of Representatives in Parliament assembled:

• The petition of the City of Belmont (“the City”) of 215 Wright Street, Cloverdale in the State of Western Australia draws the attention of the House to the following facts:
• The Westralia Airports Corporation (“WAC”) leases the Perth Airport from the Commonwealth Government under a 50 year lease with an option to renew for a further 49 years.
• The WAC must make “rates equivalent payments” to the City under clause 24.2 of the lease. The reason for this is the Federal Government’s commitment to the principles of competitive neutrality, which in this instance ensures that the WAC does not have a competitive advantage over other commercial operators who must make annual rate payments to their relevant local government authority.
• In accordance with the lease, the City issued a notice to the WAC for a rates equivalent payment in the 2005/6 Financial Year of $2.1 million. The WAC has advised the City that it will not pay the full amount of the rates equivalent payment and will only make a $1.691 million rates equivalent payment.
• The underpayment of rates by $409,000 leaves the City with a substantial budget shortfall. The impact of this will be a significant decrease of works and services in the local community and may result in an increase in the amount of rates that other ratepayers in the Belmont community will have to pay.
• The City is not in a position to negotiate down rate equivalent payments as this is unfair to all the other ratepayers in Belmont who promptly pay their rates on time. Any such negotiation is in breach of competitive neutrality principles and the City does not want to engage in anti-competitive behaviour by providing the WAC with an advantage over other commercial operators.
• If the Perth Airport was privately owned land then the WAC would be required to make full payments of rates. The lease already contains a number of exemptions that would not be available if the Perth Airport was privately owned. The WAC’s ability to make further reductions exists only because the land is owned by the Commonwealth. The WAC is hiding behind the Crown to avoid paying rates.
• The Department of Transport and Regional Services (“DOTARS”) is responsible for administering the Perth Airport lease. DOTARS has not obtained legal advice on the correct interpretation of the lease clause yet continues to advise the WAC that it can negotiate a lesser amount of rates payments with the City. DOTARS is refusing to enforce the lease against the WAC to the detriment of the City and the Belmont community.
• At the time of negotiating the lease, DOTARS’ role may have been to implement Government policy but its role changed when the lease was signed and since then its responsibility has been to manage the terms of the lease.
• DOTARS has a conflict of interest between a responsibility to manage the lease and its apparent desire to advise the WAC how to reduce their rates or how other airports may have achieved a reduction. DOTARS’ role should be ensuring that ALCs promptly pay, when notified, the amount of rates required under their lease.
• Any reduction in rates payments by the WAC will result in an increase in profits. These profits will be subject to Company Tax payable to the Commonwealth Government. This is a form of tax shifting whereby a reduction in rates payments to the City results in an increase in tax income to the Commonwealth Government and imposes an additional burden upon local government to fund its operations.

Your petitioner therefore requests the House to require the Minister for Transport and Regional Services, who is responsible for administering the lease, to enforce the lease and ensure that the WAC pays, and continues to pay, full rates equivalent payments to the City of Belmont.

Signed under the City of Belmont’s Common Seal on this seventeenth day of May two thousand and six by authority of the Council in the presence of:

from 1 citizen. (Time expired)