The State Government’s $257m tax raid on Victorian energy bill payers was raised in a recent adjournment debate in Parliament.

Member for Western Victoria Bev McArthur revealed that AusNet’s land tax bill last year soared to $257m – money which goes straight to the state coffers, but is paid for directly by electricity consumers.

The staggering increase has so far gone largely unremarked, as it is not directly a new tax, and the new cost is not itemised on electricity bills.

The debate, directed to the Treasurer, brought to light the significant and unreported financial burden being placed on Victorian electricity users due to rocketing land tax assessments.

Speaking in Parliament, Mrs McArthur said, “The land tax liability for AusNet’s transmission line easements, covering vast stretches of Victoria, is simply shocking.

“For the period from May 2024 to April 2025, the Treasurer and the State Revenue Office demanded an incredible $257 million.

“This is a stark indicator of the Treasurer’s land tax hikes and their impact on every Victorian’s electricity bill.”

The rising costs of land tax are passed on to Victorian families and businesses, disputing the misleading claims from government suggesting only the wealthy or big corporations are affected.

“Every time there is a rise, Labor runs the line that it is the top end of town who will pay, but this $257 million bill demolishes that lie,” she said.

“The biggest land taxpayers are not developers, land bankers, or property moguls.

“It is every Victorian, every family, and every business that pays an electricity bill.

“AusNet does not absorb these costs; they pass them on to bill payers through a process approved by the Australian Energy Regulator.”

Just four years ago, AusNet’s land tax assessment stood at $161 million. Today, it has exploded to $257 million.

Mrs McArthur said, “That’s a $96 million increase – a 60 per cent surge without any rise in input costs, materials, or labour, just pure tax.

“If the Treasurer understands the massive whack his land tax grab has added to Victoria’s electricity bills, his lack of transparency is shocking. And if he is unaware, his lack of competence is damning.”

In a further challenge to the Treasurer, Mrs McArthur raised concerns about whether the push for new transmission lines, instead of reusing existing easements, could be financially motivated.

“Building new transmission lines instead of reusing existing easements generates serious cash for the Treasurer all without having to announce a tax increase.

“I have to ask: is this about the state’s revenue, or about what’s best for Victorian electricity users, let alone property owners forced to host 88 metre high transmission lines?

“What is the state’s total annual land tax revenue from transmission line easements and from power generation sites? With more land across the state hosting renewable power generation, this revenue is presumably rising too. “Every additional dollar in land tax ends up on our electricity bills.

“It’s time the Treasurer came clean about the full impact of his tax policies on the cost of living for Victorians.”

This article appeared in  The Buloke Times, 15 November 2024.