Hobart City Council
Open Meeting: 5p.m. Monday 23 November 2009
Present: Lord Mayor Rob Valentine, Deputy Lord Mayor Helen Burnet, Aldermen Darlene Haigh, Marti Zucco, Jeff Briscoe, Eva Ruzicka, Peter Sexton, Ron Christie, Philip Cocker, Elise Archer, Bill Harvey, Damon Thomas.
While not wanting to gag debate Valentine pointed out that they needed to get through the agenda before the dinner which would precede the AGM.
They didn’t make it, but another change to business on Council is the bringing forward of Motions with Notice – the interesting bits. If this is an attempt to improve media coverage it sits oddly with the removal of guaranteed seating for the press in the Lady Osbourne room where committee meetings take place and the reduction from two to one chair at the press table at the open meeting.
Motions With Notice
Salamanca – Street Food Vendors
Harvey’s motion was for a report to be prepared on allowing street vendors ‘offering a variety of healthy, affordable food, to operate in Salamanca in designated areas and at designated times’ . Harvey argued that the level of concern in relation to drinking and consequent violence in the area might be reduced by an increase in street life. He referred to the diversity and atmosphere that a combination of street theatre and street food might bring to the area.
Concern was expressed by Ruzicka that local restaurants and other rate paying businesses might feel disadvantaged. An amendment to ensure that the report would look at an appropriate cost for street vendors was included. Despite Zucco’s scorn for the notion of a reduction in drinking related violence being likely the motion was passed with only Christie voting against it.
Council Property – Land Tax Liability
Archer moved that a report be prepared in relation to whether Council should pass on increases in Land Tax to those not for profit organizations who have lease agreements with Council. She urged speed in dealing with this given the due dates for payment of the tax.
Sexton suggested going further, taking ‘a leaf out of the State Government’s book’ and doing the same for rates as they had done for land tax. By doing this, he suggested, Council would recover much of the money it would otherwise lose. There would then be no need to pass on increased costs.
The General Manager confirmed such an action was possible.
Briscoe, while understanding the desire for tit for tat responses, wondered whether Council was not better off financially with things as they stood.
The General Manager confirmed that this was the case.
Briscoe urged caution.
Zucco threw that windward, declaring he didn’t care what the Government thought.
Valentine, concerned not to make life harder for the community and sports organizations in lease arrangements with Council, by ‘kicking them in the shins, or the stomach, or giving them a heart attack’ said preparing of the report was a good idea and he would support the motion.
It was passed unanimously.
The third motion with notice was put forward by Alderman Thomas and was his first as a newly elected Alderman.
Land Tax Reform – Economic Development
‘That a report be prepared comparing the various states and territories land tax regimes in order that the Council can form a view to lobby the major parties for significant changes to the method of calculation and the collection process of Tasmanian Land Tax in the lead up to the next State Election.’
The debate, in which Zucco said it was good to see ‘our aspiring member for Denison is onto this’ when Archer spoke in support of it, centred on whether Council has a right to pursue the matter of lobbying in relation to Land Tax.
Council decided, unanimously, that it does, and a report will be compiled which will establish, if it can, the main parties’ policies on Land Tax. The rationale for Council concerning itself with Land Tax was, broadly, that it impacts on many of its ratepayers either as housing tenants or as small business leaseholders.
Motions with Notice are interesting because they can be a relatively quick response to topical issues. Individual aldermen reveal their passions, priorities and ambitions without having to go through the often tortuous committee stage. At the very least these motions usually result in a report being produced. Then things can become tortuous again – but not before the Alderman has drawn attention to her or his particular concern.
