Labor’s embattled Minister for Ports has again failed to rule out imposing a new $1 billion tax on Victorian consumers.
A new $15 tax on each container imported through the Port of Melbourne is being proposed by the consortium who leases the port in an effort to pay for an on-dock rail solution.
But the new tax is proposed to remain in place for the life of the port’s lease, long after the cost of the rail infrastructure has been recouped.
On current container numbers, the charge will raise nearly $1 billion, but will likely be much more given the expected growth in container imports.
That’s almost $1 billion that the Andrews Labor Government will be adding to the grocery bills and other purchases of all Victorians.
This new tax will just place further pressure on the household budgets of Victorian families already struggling with cost of living pressures.
There is no problem with building rail to the dockside and taking truck off suburban roads – the problem is how it’s going to be paid for, by whom and for how long.
