There’s lots of noise about Byron Shire Council’s special rates variation (SRV) proposal, that would be additional to the increases that we are faced with every year, without regard to actual costs or the need for any explanation other than it is to cover inflation.
But hey! it’s the way of the economic world these days, to gouge as much as possible from the resources of the man in the street to increase profits, wages for executives and managers, and to cover inefficiencies of management, to name a few.
Accountability? She’ll be right, they’ll probably bleat a bit but they’ll get over it and then we’ll have another go.
Now that’s off my chest, it is gratifying to see that the Byron Shire community is voicing its opposition to the SRV. Council is offering some explanations as to why the SRV is needed and yes, perhaps there is some justification given rising construction and maintenance costs, the need for resources to pay for some of the residual effects of flooding and business resilience (wow!).
Yes, but where is the evidence that they have tried to tackle the deficiencies in other ways? Thinking: structural change? A review of work practices? What about admitting that within the current funding framework they can’t do all the things they (and we) would like to do – and therefore we may need to set priorities?
Unfortunately, their reasoning for the SRV seems to be based on self-interest and self-preservation rather than consideration of the conditions that many members of our community are faced with in the current economic climate.
I can only speak for myself, an octogenarian, on a fixed income, with no prospects of increasing it other than an occasional couple of dollars courtesy of the federal government. One of the 20 per cent of the Byron Shire population over 65 years of age, a majority of whom I suspect are on a moderate fixed income battling the effects of rising living costs and diminishing quality of life. Want a bit of a picture of what it’s like for us?
From 2022 to 2026 the official average yearly inflation rate was 4.74 per cent (LOL).
From 2022 to 2026 the aged pension for a couple increased from $40,237 to $48,516. A 17.1 per cent increase over the period.
From 2022/23 to 2026/27 my Byron Shire rates, after concession, increased from $2,413 to $3,107 – that’s a 28.8 per cent increase over the period.
And a few of the hundreds of other rises in costs over the past five years that we can’t avoid if we want to remain on the planet. The staples of life: a standard loaf of bread cost $1.10 to $1.20 in Woolworths in 2021, in 2026 the same standard loaf is advertised as $2.50 to $3.60 a 127 per cent to 200 per cent increase; a litre of milk from Woolworths in 2021 cost $1.35, in 2026 it costs $1.75 a 29.6 per cent increase; a dozen 700gm eggs cost $3.90 to $4.60 in 2021 in Woolworths, in 2026 they cost $6.70 to $8.40, a 72 per cent to 83 per cent increase; a kilogram of rump steak cost $18.50 in 2021 in Woolworths, in 2026 it cost $30.00, a 62 per cent increase.
I suspect that there are many Byron Shire residents under 65 who are feeling the economic pressures as bad or worse than my cohort. On the other hand there are probably a large number, particularly property investors, who simply pass any increases on to their tenants. A 30 per cent increase in Council rates over three years might not sound like much, but those of us out here living on the poverty line it might just be the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
