Property developers have made billions of dollars in profit in Queensland building massive apartment towers without paying their fair share to fund public infrastructure.
When land is rezoned for a higher use, property developers make massive windfall profits, but they don’t pay anything for the privilege. This is a massive giveaway of public wealth into private hands. The current system encourages corruption and backroom deals, and it makes property speculation worse, pushing up prices.
Overwhelmingly, these massive “gifts” flow to rich, well-connected property developers who can afford expensive lobbyists. Queensland research by Cameron Murray and Paul Frijters (2015) has shown that "well-connected" landowners held 75% of the land rezoned in growth areas, compared with only 12% of comparable land immediately outside the rezoning.
Murray and Frijters’ work has uncovered an alarming network of informal “mates” who benefit from public handouts. Political donations, informal networks and the revolving door between big corporations, Labor and the LNP keep these favors flowing. It’s time to turn off the tap.
The Greens will:
- Make developers pay for public services and infrastructure we all need, with a 75% Developer Tax on land value gains from rezoning. This would reduce corruption and parasitic land speculation, and raise $7.8 billion over four years.
- Remove the $20,000 cap on developer infrastructure charges to give councils the flexibility to charge developers according to the cost of delivering crucial infrastructure.