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JUNE 23, 2023
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Fresh bed tax moves
Cairns mayor refuses to let go of users-pay model to market city l CAIRNS CBD | Nick Dalton
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NATHAN Andronicus, 16, is one of the youngest and most passionate members of the Cairns Model Railway Club which is searching for a new home after it was given notice by Raintrees shopping centre management. The club has to vacate their premises by the end of next month to make way for the Australian Electoral Commission’s referendum headquarters. FULL STORY PAGE 4 Picture: Nick Dalton
CAIRNS Mayor Bob Manning is not giving up on a bed tax or tourism levy to raise millions of dollars to market the city and the region. It’s likely to form part of a state election campaign in the lead-up to October 26, 2024 polling day. In November last year, state Tourism Minister Stirling Hinchliffe ruled out the visitor levy because the government had pledged to introduce no new taxes. But Cr Manning has reminded the government it would not be a state tax. He said the Local Government Association of Queensland last year recommended the levy to the government after 85 per cent at the annual conference supported the proposal.
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Cr Manning said it would be a levy introduced by the council and all that was needed was a simple legislative change to empower local government to opt-in to charge a visitor levy. He also reminded the government that ,while it had pledged no new taxes, it had introduced a three-tiered coal royalty system to raise billions of dollars in revenues. “User-pay levies of this kind are used all around the world. Australia has been slow to follow suit,” Cr Manning said. “However, it is heartening to see NSW is now considering if a visitor levy is appropriate for them,” he said. “Now Victoria will look at it and what will happen is we’ll (Queensland) be left behind.” CONTINUED PAGE 6 COUNCIL BUDGET COVERAGE PAGES 6-7