The City of Melbourne's proposed new waste permit could impose an extra $2,000 on small businesses at a time when the Council is apparently fighting to keep businesses in the city.
This ill-conceived and poorly planned system will burden waste operators with enormous fees – costs they have already signalled will be passed directly onto businesses.
Tim Piper, Victorian Head of Australian Industry Group and the Waste Industry Alliance, said the permit fee of $2,750 per waste truck and upwards will substantially increase the cost of waste collection for city businesses.
"Companies are already warning that collection costs will rise by up to $2,000 per year per city business. And it's not just the permit fee – the administrative and management overheads for businesses have been conveniently ignored as have the Council's own IT, enforcement and administrative costs.
"They call it a zero sum cost – but that's because businesses are paying for this bureaucratic nightmare.
"The council's pro-business agenda seems to have been lost," Mr Piper said. "The new system has not been properly thought through. The costs and impacts far outweigh the benefits."
Mr Piper likened the approach to a game of wack-a-mole: "One problem might be addressed in a limited way, but it will create other unintended consequences. The council's sustainability program will be undermined, rubbish dumping will increase, and businesses simply cannot afford this impost at a time when vacancies in the city are already too high.
"Not only will this discourage new businesses from entering the CBD, it will force existing businesses to question their viability.
"Australian Industry Group is calling on the Council to consider the full implications of this permit fee – particularly on the small businesses it claims to support.
"The message this new permit sends is clear: businesses are not welcome in the CBD, and if they want to stay, they'll keep paying more for the privilege.
"The City of Melbourne Councillors must ask themselves whether businesses can afford this half-baked new impost, especially when fewer people are working in the city and many prefer to work from home," Mr Piper said.
