UNPAID RATES,

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20364, 23 July 1934, Page 4

UNPAID RATES,

Threat to Sell Homes to Pay Arrears. DICTATOR OF BANKSTOWN. j (Special to the “ Star.”) SYDNEY, July 13 Bankstown is a suburban centre abou r 11 miles from Sydney, and during tin past 12 months or so it has been fre quentlv the focus of public interest b> virtue of its municipal troubles. Somt time ago Mr. Spooner, as Minister foi Local Government, thought it necessarj op desirable to supersede the local council by an administrator. This officia; Mr. Wylie, has had charge of local affairs, ever since; and he conducts th€ periodic council meetings with the assistance of the town clerk, voting moneys and finishing off in the space of 10 or 12 mintes business which used to take llie council three or four hours. One of Mr. Wylie's many difficulties fs financial. When he took olliee about six .months ago he found that there were arrears on more than 1.3,000 assessments, amounting in all to at least £114,000. Naturally enough he decided that such a state of things “cannot be tolerated/* and in cases where no satisfactory answer is returned to his request for some sort of payment, legal steps will bo taken. “I want the rates.'* he told an interviewer the other day, “and 1 mean to getyfhem.” Among other things, he lias mentioned that lie intends to avail himself of the power which he undoubtedly possesses, to dispose of properties on which rates have not been paid for more than seven years. As a matter of strict legality, all this is correct enough, but it is possible to put forward arguments on the other side, at least to the extent of deprecating any sudden and decisive action. Inflated Values.

One of Sydney's best-known lawyers, Mr. W. A. Windever, the other day suggested that, while Mr. Wylie is no doubt trying to carry out his duties in strict accordance with the letter of the statute, there are certain phases of the question which he seems inclined to ignore. The failure to pay rates is largely a result of the depression; and to meet the depression, a moratorium was decreed on many charges and payments. Why should there not be a moratorium for rates as well? More-, over, rates are required generally for the upkeep of roads and other public works. The depression meant for a long time an almost complete cessation of public works; and therefore the default of the ratepayer's now in arrears lias not been a serious matter for the municipality. Again, the rates are charged on values that were deliberately inflated by “go-getters” and have proved to he largely fictitious; and the effect of the Administrator's action would be lo deprive many workers of any chance of ever getting back, through a subsequent rise in values, any part of the money that they have already put into their houses and land. Further, the amount of the rates now due will be raised enormously bv the legal costs of these projected prosecutions. For all these reasons Mr. Windever thinks that, as a. matter of abstract justice, as well us practical politics, the Administrator would do well to hold his hand. Burden On Those Who Pay. On the other hand, Mr. Wylie contends that every one of the 1.3,000 defaulters has received four or five written warnings; that many hundreds of them have been interviewed personally; and that he does not see why the “honest and deserving” ratepayers should carry the rest of the community on their shoulders. This may be all quite true, but Mr. Windeyer’s arguments carry a great deal of force, not only in the case of Bankstown, but in all parallel instances of unpaid rates, and Ids views are well worthy of serious consideration.