The rates issue is one that has been challenged by Perth and Jandakot and failed.
It is the remnants of an ex-gratia annual payment the Commonwealth government made to the shires when they first took the land for the airports to compensate them for not having ratepayers there. When the Airports Act came through that was still in there and now the tenants get lumbered with this "annual fee" for the councils. The councils provide no services whatsoever except to empty the bins, which we have to pay separately for.
