Wattle Range Mayor Des Noll has again taken aim at a major industry within its boundaries as he believes it should be paying an additional $1m per year in rates.


The Mayor estimates every other Wattle Range Council ratepayer would have their annual rates bill slashed by 5% if this was the case.


His council area is home to around 100 wind turbines which enjoy a rating discount on account of State Government legislation enacted in the mid 1990s to encourage the growth of this renewal energy sector.


In a similar vein, the Kimberly-Clark Australia is a similar beneficiary of special State Government legislation where discounted rates are used to attract industrial enterprises.


Wattle Range Council has a number of other wind and solar farms in the pipeline as they have received planning approval but are yet to begin construction.


Mayor Noll put his views about the rate discounts at the head of his monthly report to the March council meeting.


“Regional communities in South Australia are missing out on more than $6m each financial year because outdated legislation is allowing multinational wind and solar developers to receive massive rate discounts,” Mayor Noll wrote.


“Wattle Range Council has been and will continue to be a strong advocate, doing much work around this to change the equity for ratepayers.


“We anticipate electricity generators are being subsidised by $1m per annum, and every other ratepayer would get a 5% discount on their rates bill if this loophole in legislation was closed.


“Wattle Range Council is currently working with various members of the South Australian parliament to rectify this situation.


“The Local Government Association is a strong supporter for this inequity towards ratepayers.


“There has been significant public media concerning this issue recently.”