Dinner Plain must be exempt from unfair Land Tax

The Nationals Member for Ovens Valley, Tim McCurdy, has called on the Allan Labor Government to urgently exempt Dinner Plain from the Vacant Residential Land Tax (VRLT), in line with all other Victorian alpine resorts.

“Dinner Plain sits above the snow line at 1,570 metres and experiences the same seasonal demand as other alpine resorts, yet Labor continues to penalise its property owners with a tax that simply doesn’t fit the region,” Mr McCurdy said.

Unlike other alpine towns, Dinner Plain remains unfairly subjected to the VRLT despite meeting all the criteria of an alpine resort. The town endures a limited tourism window during the snow season, and for much of the year lacks core services like public transport, medical facilities, supermarkets, and community infrastructure.

“To suggest there is a market for long-term accommodation in a town without year-round services is completely out of touch,” Mr McCurdy said.

“The tax was designed to discourage land banking in high-demand urban areas, not punish regional alpine communities already grappling with poor snow seasons, bushfire recovery, and the long shadow of COVID.”

Mr McCurdy said continuing to apply the VRLT to Dinner Plain is economically damaging and fundamentally unjust.

“This is an anomaly the Treasurer must fix. Dinner Plain deserves the same recognition and exemption as other alpine resorts.”

“Labor can’t manage money and regional communities like Dinner Plain are left paying the price.”