Published on:
Thursday, 23 October 2025
Key Points:
WALGA condemns the State Government's introduction of heavy handed and unnecessary legislation, further placing resource companies ahead of Western Australian communities.
Today, Hon Hannah Beazley MLA, Minister for Local Government, introduced the Local Government Amendment (Rating of Certain Mining Licences) Bill 2025 to State Parliament. This Bill undermines a decision of the Supreme Court of Western Australia and sets a concerning precedent for Government overreach into the judiciary.
WALGA questions the State Government’s priorities given the more immediate challenges particularly in regional Western Australia including health, cost of living, biosecurity and housing. Too frequently, Local Government has had to step up to fill the gaps left by the State Government.
In July, Supreme Court of Western Australia Justice Marcus Solomon determined that Crown land, subject of a miscellaneous licence, was rateable for Local Governments.
The Local Government Amendment (Rating of Certain Mining Licences) Bill 2025 contains a number of punitive and unreasonable clauses including:
Of concern, the State Government has not undertaken a Regulatory Impact Assessment to understand the effect of these changes on Local Government and the community.
WALGA is also concerned that Local Governments will have to refund thousands of dollars in lawfully levied rates which will further impact their ability to deliver services to local communities.
As determined by Justice Solomon, WALGA maintains that Local Governments should retain the authority to rate miscellaneous licences.
WALGA President Karen Chappel AM JP hit out at the poorly conceived legislation and noted it had not been through any meaningful consultation with the Local Government sector.
"Our hospitals across Western Australia are at breaking point, WA families have never been more impacted by the cost of living and housing affordability in WA is beyond the reach of many, yet the State Government's priority is to legislate to keep the mining sector happy,” President Chappel said.
"WALGA considers the proposed amendments to be unnecessarily punitive and disproportionate in their impact on Local Governments that have lawfully levied rates on occupied land under miscellaneous licences.
"The State Government's disregard for WA Local Governments forces the sector to do more with less while the introduction of this legislation undermines the fabric of our judicial system and the Supreme Court of WA.”
- WALGA critical of introduction of the Local Government Amendment (Rating of Certain Mining Licences) Bill 2025 to State Parliament
- State Government puts mining interests ahead of WA communities
- Local Government continues to deliver more for Western Australians with less
WALGA condemns the State Government's introduction of heavy handed and unnecessary legislation, further placing resource companies ahead of Western Australian communities.
Today, Hon Hannah Beazley MLA, Minister for Local Government, introduced the Local Government Amendment (Rating of Certain Mining Licences) Bill 2025 to State Parliament. This Bill undermines a decision of the Supreme Court of Western Australia and sets a concerning precedent for Government overreach into the judiciary.
WALGA questions the State Government’s priorities given the more immediate challenges particularly in regional Western Australia including health, cost of living, biosecurity and housing. Too frequently, Local Government has had to step up to fill the gaps left by the State Government.
In July, Supreme Court of Western Australia Justice Marcus Solomon determined that Crown land, subject of a miscellaneous licence, was rateable for Local Governments.
The Local Government Amendment (Rating of Certain Mining Licences) Bill 2025 contains a number of punitive and unreasonable clauses including:
- retrospective application of amendments, with Local Governments forced to refund rates, lawfully levied, dating back to 2017,
- the timeframe (28 days) for Local Governments providing these refunds to mining companies, and
- a disproportionate benefit to the resource sector.
Of concern, the State Government has not undertaken a Regulatory Impact Assessment to understand the effect of these changes on Local Government and the community.
WALGA is also concerned that Local Governments will have to refund thousands of dollars in lawfully levied rates which will further impact their ability to deliver services to local communities.
As determined by Justice Solomon, WALGA maintains that Local Governments should retain the authority to rate miscellaneous licences.
WALGA President Karen Chappel AM JP hit out at the poorly conceived legislation and noted it had not been through any meaningful consultation with the Local Government sector.
"Our hospitals across Western Australia are at breaking point, WA families have never been more impacted by the cost of living and housing affordability in WA is beyond the reach of many, yet the State Government's priority is to legislate to keep the mining sector happy,” President Chappel said.
"WALGA considers the proposed amendments to be unnecessarily punitive and disproportionate in their impact on Local Governments that have lawfully levied rates on occupied land under miscellaneous licences.
"The State Government's disregard for WA Local Governments forces the sector to do more with less while the introduction of this legislation undermines the fabric of our judicial system and the Supreme Court of WA.”
