Leaving on his terms Dan Andrews leaves at the top of his achievements and gives the state government a smooth transition to continue, what is not only his, but Labor’s legacy in the vital infrastructure and progressive social policies that have transformed Victoria from a stagnated state to one of dynamism. Where will it end? When the whole state is covered in houses? Instead of taxing owners of vacant land to promote more of this catastrophic invasion of our fertile paddocks, how about providing incentives to builders of higher density housing around the major suburban and city centres where services and public transport exist already? Anne Austin, Flinders Rarely are they close to schools, hospitals, public transport, park space and other amenities needed to build and sustain strong communities. Not to mention that these new houses take up most of their block with no consideration of passive solar design and all sporting mechanical heating/cooling systems on their often dark-coloured roofs. Keep land under wraps I have worried for years about the rapid urban expansion at the fringes of our towns and cities, in most instances the McMansions being built on prime farmlands. My only advice is that Pallas find a way of applying the revenue from the tax in favour of those whose property owning or renting ambitions have been thwarted by the hoarding of empty properties. The empty property tax is a classical economic strategy, for which the treasurer should be commended. Empty properties impose a cost on others in the form of a reduced supply of property that in turn leads to an increased price for the available properties. After all that is what every male dominated government shows, all of those men were chosen on merit, weren’t they? Janice Merrett, SeafordĬlassical tax As with his road user tax on electric vehicles, Tim Pallas’ tax on empty property is a justifiable tax – it targets those who impose costs on others by their behaviours (“ Pallas launches surprise tax move to free up vacant land”, 4/10). Merit-based appointments I would just like to assure your correspondents that all the members of the new Victorian government were chosen purely on merit, not gender. Ruth Bader Ginsburg was once asked when there would be enough female justices on the US Supreme Court and her response was when they are all female. I wonder if he had a problem with cabinets when they were all male? It’s only 10 years ago that former prime minister Tony Abbott created a cabinet with just one woman. Getting the balance right At first I thought your correspondent’s letter criticising Jacinta Allan’s female majority cabinet was a joke (“ Gender imbalance”, 4/10). They don’t succeed in diverting attention from the issues in question and seem designed to dodge accountability. References to unrelated topics like “delivering housing and other priorities to the regions” are too obviously red herrings, (“ Lawyers got $1.2m to help ditch games”, 4/10). State politicsĪ note for Premier Jacinta Allan: when asked about things she’d rather not answer, for example legal fees incurred in withdrawing from hosting the 2026 Commonwealth Games, she should just address the questions frankly. See here for our rules and tips on getting your letter published. To submit a letter to The Age, email Please include your home address and telephone number below your letter.
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