A group of Far North Queensland cattle producers is seeking legal advice on a three-year-long stoush with their council over “inequitable” rates.
The Cassowary Coast Graziers Association was formed in 2023 to address what it says are disproportionately high rates compared to neighbouring regions.
“[Our] rates are grossly inequitable,” Maria Creeks grazier Jason Burzacott said.
“We pay the highest rates in the dollar of all the east coast peers by a long margin, and that’s been the case for 10 years now.”
Cassowary Coast Regional Council chief executive officer Andrew Graffen said the graziers’ concerns were understandable, but the rating system was equitable.
“You can’t compare grazing rates by looking at the rate in the dollar alone,” Mr Graffen said.
Finding equity
About 30,000 people live in the local government area, which extends from north of Innisfail to south of Cardwell between Cairns and Townsville.
Mr Burzacott said the graziers were not asking for lower rates, but a clearer explanation of how they were determined in line with the council’s transparency policies.
Jason Burzacott says he wants council to explain how it determines rates. (ABC Rural: Sophie Johnson)
“All we’re asking of Cassowary Coast Regional Council is to tell us why they reckon our rates are equitable,” he said.
In Queensland, council rates are calculated by multiplying the rate in the dollar by the land valuation, which is determined by the state government.
This year, farmland valuations in the region rose by 60 per cent.
While the council has no control over valuations, it does control the rate in the dollar, which Mr Burzacott said was the highest among similar regions used by the council’s rating advisory committee for benchmarking.
“We’re at 1.8 cents in the dollar, and the next highest being the Burdekin [Shire Council] is at about 1.4 cents in the dollar,” he said.
Anthony Callega says the issue could have been put to rest years ago. (ABC Rural: Sophie Johnson)
On average, the association estimates rates cost the region’s graziers about 30 per cent of their gross profit margin.
“For every three cows I have in the paddock, they take one every year,”
grazier Anthony Callega said.
“I don’t think much explanation is required [for] what losing 30 per cent of your income to one service sector does.”
Call for transparency
According to its revenue policy, the council considers the land’s revenue-generating ability and the sector’s burden on the road network when calculating the rate in the dollar for farming.
In the past, all farms were rated under a single primary production category, but this financial year the council split it into subcategories for livestock, sugar cane, horticulture, forestry and aquaculture.
Each sector is paying the same rate in the dollar.
Mr Graffen said the council budget tried to balance rising costs with the needs of all ratepayers, including primary producers.
“Council saw a significant reduction in the rate in the dollar in our 2025–26 rate than in what was presented in 2024–25,” Mr Graffen said.
“That was because we saw a significant increase in land valuation.”
Cassowary Coast graziers say they do not get the same services as other shires, such as sale yards. (ABC Rural: Sophie Johnson)
He said the council faced significant infrastructure costs, including maintaining more than 1,200 kilometres of roads, much of them unsealed.
“We’re up there in the top 10 councils in Queensland for the size of the decks on our roads and bridges across the region, drainage and our rural and our urban areas,” he said.
Responding to the graziers’ concerns that the council was not adhering to the requirements in its revenue policy, Mr Graffen said the council aimed for fairness.
“Council’s revenue policy is a guideline that’s intended to promote the best practice,” Mr Graffen said.
“We set out some principles there around equity for like properties, users pay where [they] can, meaningful contributions, providing predictability for the ratepayers and fairness.”
But Mr Burzacott said graziers were not satisfied, and they had raised funds to seek legal advice about their concerns.
“[For the] Cassowary Coast, even though we are the highest rate in the dollar by a long margin, we get no specific service whatsoever to graziers,” he said.
“We just want to know why.
“We’re three years on in this exercise. Council only has to tell us why the rates are fair and equitable, and this whole matter is closed.”
