Are We Geographically Disadvantaged?
In a recent draft report about tax concessions, the Productivity Commission declared centres like Townsville and Cairns to no longer be deemed remote. The Productivity Commission is Australia’s independent research and advisory body to the Australian Government, and their work has substantial influence over national policies and the country’s direction.
The draft report, released in early September, is a preliminary response regarding the efficiencies of the Zonal Tax Offset (ZTO) and Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) in remote areas. The report raises interesting questions about geographical disadvantage. Thanks to connectivity and development, the title of isolated areas bestowed upon us by the Australian Tax Office in 1945 has been lifted. By no longer being remote or isolated, such regions are therefore no longer deemed to be at a disadvantage with the rest of the country.
The disadvantage no longer exists because there are two kinds of people living in remote areas, the report says – those with skills who relocate for work opportunities and higher than national average wages and thus can pay for themselves; and those already receiving assistance through income support, living where they are because of cultural or personal reasons.
Really? Is there no middle-income or even low-income earners in Mount Isa, the Tablelands or the Cape? Thank goodness Townsville is no longer remote. Many average working families struggling to make ends meet would feel out of place at home. The report says that, while it can be difficult to live and do business outside of main centres, “there is no clear role for Government to compensate taxpayers for the disadvantage of life in remote areas”. That is because, the report says, we already receive high wages and enjoy the “peace and pace of remote living.”
Makes you wonder why 10,000 skilled people left North Queensland in 2017. It must have been they couldn’t handle the high salaries and quiet surrounds reportedly on offer.
This lack of understanding about the challenges of living in regions, remote or otherwise, is appalling. It is also, sadly, representative of how many influencers in Australia see the regions, portrayed either as pillaging the earth for high gains or as welfare recipients. Anyone not living in a capital city, either by choice or by fate, should get on living with their disadvantage and stop bothering the rest of the country, so they seem to say. Even more distressing is that efforts to explain our realities are dismissed or drowned in the white noise.
The Chamber wrote a submission to the Commission, as did seven other regional or remote Chambers of Commerce and member-based organisations. 21 Councils and Shires from across regional Australia, including Townsville City Council, put a submission to the Commission, explaining why regions are at a disadvantage compared to capital cities, and why government should try to even out the playing field.
Collectively, we wrote hundreds of pages describing regional disadvantages like higher insurance cost, electricity cost, petrol prices, and food cost. Not to mention travel cost for education or medical reasons. Together, we argue that geographical distances and low population still disadvantage those living in regions despite technological advancements. Over a third of the submissions received were from regional or remote areas, the very people the report was studying. Somehow, that wasn’t enough to influence one of Australia’s biggest influencers.
For a copy of the draft report, visit www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/current/remote-tax/draft. Responses to the draft report can submitted until 11 October.
