Bet you didn't know you are being exploited by an Access Tax

Written by Russell Jackson CIBA President 18 August 2024

Are You Aware You’re Being Exploited?

Moreton Bay Island residents, it’s time to wake up and face the shocking reality: you are being exploited by the very council that is supposed to serve you. While your mainland neighbours go about their lives without any extra costs, you are being quietly squeezed for hundreds of dollars every year just to access your own home. 

The Unfair Reality of the Access Tax

Russell Jackson, president of the Coochiemudlo Island Business Association, has revealed a scandalous truth that has gone unnoticed by most residents: every household on Coochiemudlo Island is paying around $500 per year as an Access Tax—just for the right to return to their homes. This tax is on top of the council rates, which are already the highest in Southeast Queensland before this extra burden is added. And it’s not just Coochiemudlo Island; residents of the Southern Moreton Bay Islands like Russell and Macleay are also being charged $150 per home for the same unjust tax.

A Discriminatory Tax Hidden in Plain Sight

Mr. Jackson explains the deep injustice at play here: “It is totally unjust that island residents pay for the ferry terminals as an impost on each household. You don’t see mainland residents paying for bus terminals for buses to stop at, nor do you see each house getting a bill for the roads to their driveways.”

Imagine this: if you live on the mainland, you pay a bus fare to travel within the city, and that fare covers the cost of running the bus. But for island residents, your ferry fare doesn’t just cover the cost of the ferry service—it also has to fund the very terminals where the ferries dock. This is like asking mainland residents to pay not just for their bus ride, but for the construction of the bus stops and the roads as well. It’s an outrageous double standard.

In fact, this is not just a double standard, this is full on double-dipping. Island residents get to pay for bus stops (jetty terminals) in their general rates, then they get an unfair direct charges as well.

The Hidden Tax: Out of Sight, Out of Mind

Even more shocking is how this Access Tax has been kept under wraps. “Residents were completely unaware that there was an Access Tax because the Council has made it the ferry operator's job to collect it from island residents through ferry fares. It was essentially a hidden tax to every island household collected by the operator but nonetheless ending up in Council coffers and constitutes an Access Tax,” Jackson said.

This scandalous practice has only come to light because the ferry operator, who is being forced to collect this $249,000 a year for the Council, has announced that he can no longer afford to keep up with these demands. He’s not going to renew his contract in December, leaving residents to grapple with the harsh reality of what this tax truly means.

A Community Outrage

Mr. Jackson points out that most residents thought the ferry operator was profiteering by raising ticket prices. In reality, all they were trying to do was cover the Access Tax that the Redland City Council demanded. The truth is, this tax is a hidden hand in your pocket, siphoning off money that should be used for other things—like supporting your family or improving your home.

How many of you knew that every time you paid your rates, you were also paying for your mainland neighbours to have free access to their homes? And then, to add insult to injury, you’re hit with this discriminatory tax just to access your own? “It’s so unfair it makes my blood boil,” Jackson admits.

We need to remove this unfair tax

It’s Time to Act

This exploitation cannot continue. Moreton Bay Island residents, it’s time to stand up and demand an end to this unfair Access Tax. You deserve the same rights as your mainland neighbours. Enough is enough.

Join the movement. Make your voice heard. Stop the Access Tax now.

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