By Steven Wardill

April 28, 2008

THOUSANDS of Queensland businesses have been slugged fees that the State Government has secretly known for years may be illegal.

The Courier-Mail can reveal a raft of fees levied by the Environmental Protection Agency since 1998 are likely to be outside the scope of the State’s authority.

However, despite receiving high-level legal advice more than five years ago, the Government failed to act and continued to raise millions of dollars a year from businesses.

The annual environmental fees are spread across an array of waste-emitting industries, including paint manufacturing, beverage production, seafood processing, oil refining and farming.

Fees start from as low as several hundred dollars and rise to tens of thousands a year for some major industries.

Many of the EPA’s prices are based on a business’s volume of production, but state governments are prohibited from levying such excises as they fall within the realm of the Commonwealth.

Sustainability and Climate Change Minister Andrew McNamara yesterday admitted the Government had been aware the fees may be unconstitutional but was now moving to resolve the issue before the end of the year.

“These fees have been around for a long time, this is the Environmental Protection Regulation from 1998,” Mr McNamara said.

“But all I can do as minister is sort it out.”

Mr McNamara said he was unaware of any business raising an issue with the legality of the fees but legal advice had been received in 2006 warning there could be a problem.

However, it is understood the department also received legal advice in early 2003 with the same warning.

This was prompted by a veiled reference in an Auditor General’s report in December 2002 that raised concerns about “certain issues pertaining to licence fees”.

Fixing the fees will cost some businesses dearly with the Government planning to shift from a current flat charge and volume-based method to a risk-based method.

The Bligh Government has recently announced a similar risk-based assessment scheme for issuing late-night liquor licences.

The Government wants to recoup enough from the changes to plug the difference between the $9 million a year the EPA raises from the environmental fees and the $32 million it spends on patrolling businesses for waste and emissions.

“While it is likely there will be fee increases for bigger polluting industries, the proposed fees are less than in other states,” Mr McNamara said.