Apartment rents across Australia have increased six times faster than wages and house rents have climbed at triple the rate, leaving many tenants struggling to make ends meet. 

A representative from Ray White Real Estate being interviewed on 7 News said that "rent increases are affected by rate rises." Rates that our Council has been increasing year in and year out regardless of community needs and outcry. The problem is that our council is overrun by political Councillors that are purely there to showcase to their political masters to duplicate services that are the responsibility of state and federal governments.. Rate rises that are simply filtered back into the conga line of vested interests and bleeding hearts groups that have been lining up for handouts for decades.

Our community has a high proportion of renters that are being constantly hit with rent increases that are partly driven by rate increases. Residents in our community are paying the highest rates of all the Councils in Victoria. Rates that are driving out pensioners from their family homes, forced to effectively reverse mortgage their family homes and making rents unaffordable to renters.

The City of Port Phillip is flush with funds and have an excess of over $160 million dollars in their war chest so there should be no excuse for helping our community to cope with the constant inflationary post Covid increases including state and federal taxes and Council Rates.

Politically aligned councillors do not care for the greater good of our community. They are cutting their political teeth in the hope of moving up the ladder towards state or federal  politics.  

The community has had enough of these political Councillors and should voice their opinions directly by email to Councillors prior to voting on the Council Plan and Budget on 20th June.

Rally against the Rise: see email addresses for your councillors at https://www.portphillip.vic.gov.au/about-the-council/who-we-are/your-councillors 

Source: https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/it-s-bleak-why-you-might-be-struggling-to-keep-pace-with-rent-rises-20230529-p5dc8l.html