Tasmanian Ratepayers’ Association Inc.
P.O. Box 1035,
LAUNCESTON TAS 7250
03 6331 6144
17th. December 2012,
Mayor Albert van Zettan
Launceston City Council
Town Hall
St John Street
LAUNCESTON Tas 7250
Dear Mayor, URGENT COMMUNICATION
Re: Launceston City Council Special Meeting 17 December 2012
We wrote to you concerning the Inveresk site and UTAS on 14th December, and are very disappointed that we did not receive a reply from you.
The communications from the General Manager and belatedly from the Director of Corporate Services do not constitute replies to the requests for information we are quite properly seeking.
It is of considerable concern to ratepayers to learn that the concept of developing housing on the Inveresk site was an initiative of the General Manager, who approached UTAS just over a year ago, to entice them from otherwise developing land they already own and favoured at Newnham.
This is not the first time that UTAS has also sought freehold ownership of other land and buildings at Inveresk, because it was in the period when Bob Campbell was General Manager that UTAS approached Council and was firmly refused.
It is also of concern to learn that the General Manager approached Treasury in November 2011 to ask them to lift restrictions on development at Invermay, that the State Government had imposed as a condition of them funding the Flood Levee Reconstruction project. Treasury has apparently had a change of view following the departure of Don Challen, and current personnel have somewhat conceded that this housing project could be excluded from the embargo applying to other Invermay/Inveresk property owners.
This housing project has been incorrectly called Student Housing, whereas it is in fact housing for low income residents, some of whom may be students, but certainly not exclusively or even in the majority.
UTAS has had an approval for 770 NRAS units. This means they get in rough terms $770*$10,000*10years. So for Launceston they get 120*$10,000*10years = 12 million over 10 years plus rent at 80% of the going rate. After 10 years they are free to sell to whoever.
The tenants are chosen by the UTAS as the administrator. Tenants are meant to be anyone with a lower income. It is not just for students, but we could well imagine that at least 120 students would apply.
The following link gives greater detail:
http://www.fahcsia.gov.au/our-responsibilities/housing-support/programs-services/national-rental-affordability-scheme/national-rental-affordability-section-round-4-outcomes
NRAS provides a substantial annual tax-free incentive, called the NRAS Incentive, to the business sector and community organizations who build and rent dwellings to low and moderate income households at a rate that is a least 20 per cent below the prevailing market rate.
We believe that by undercutting local rentals by 20%, the existing local rental market, particularly that occupied already by students, will be decimated. This is, in our opinion, a most destructive action that does not advantage the local economy.
Current Incentive
The annual income-tax free Incentive for NRAS projects is currently $9,981 per dwelling, and is indexed each year to the rental component of the CPI.
The Incentive comprises:
• an Australian Government contribution of $7,486 per dwelling per year (paid as a refundable tax offset or payment); and
• a State or Territory Government contribution of $2,495 per dwelling per year (in direct or in-kind financial support).
On 27 February when the Launceston Planning Scheme was amended, the planner stated
The desirability of locating student accommodation within the Inveresk Precinct:
An opportunity has arisen (in partnership with the University of Tasmania) to seek funding for the development of new student accommodation in conjunction with educational facilities within the Inveresk Precinct.
There are a number of strategic benefits to this.
The site is a desirable and central location to provide for dedicated student accommodation.
It was argued that:
“Student accommodation can be differentiated from private dwellings as importantly the residents are non permanent and temporary in nature. Should flood inundation then occur the impacts and disruption to the community would be less severe and easier to manage.”
Importantly, it must be noted that the NRAS scheme is NOT STUDENT ACCOMMODATION but permanent housing for low income people.
The General Manager said on 26 November 2012
The General Manager replied that Council is not going outside its core business in terms of the student accommodation at Inveresk. The student accommodation is EMRAS funded from the Commonwealth and that is in fact low income housing rather than student accommodation specifically. In this instance it is being used for low income and student accommodation. UTAS' ability to gain funding from the Commonwealth is contingent upon the number of units constructed being occupied by low income individuals for them to gain the grant funding. In terms of core business of Council one of the Heads of Agreement signed in 1992 relating to the transfer of that particular Inveresk site to Council related to the provision of low income housing accommodation on that particular site and it is a very specific part of the Heads of Agreement signed by the State Government, the Launceston City Council and Australian National Railways.
The GM statement is not in agreement with the Planning amendment notes.
If one observes the parties that get money for this type of housing development, many are ultra commercial operations, and there is no need to give the land away for free and make them exempt from paying rates to the City.
There is no need for the remaining UTAS buildings to be given to the University. Universities are changing and it could well be that the physical footprint of the university shrinks to Hobart as more courses go online.
We need hardly remind LCC Aldermen of the sale of land to the Store it Safe buildings for it only to be bought back at huge cost later.
The Agenda for your special meeting was not made public until it was placed on Council's website at the end of the afternoon on Friday 14th December. This denial of information has denied the ratepaying public of any knowledge of this matter, its detailed implications and the ability to make representations to Council, either in writing or in person.
The only public information has been a relatively obscure newspaper notice on 12 December, stating :
· UTAS Student Accommodation at the Inveresk Precinct
This in no way alerts ratepayers to what Council is to consider at the Special Meeting today, and does not identify the value of assets proposed to be given away to UTAS.
Accordingly, we urge Council to defer any decision on this agenda item until it next meets in January 2013, so as to give Launceston ratepayers the proper opportunity to familiarise themselves with this proposal and for Aldermen to take into account the community's viewpoint.
Yours faithfully,
Lionel J. Morrell
President
for and on behalf of Tasmanian Ratepayers Association Inc.
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