It does tend to remind me of rotton boroughs and only land-owners voting, but I also see the other side of the coin - council taxation is I think mostly rates, and paid by land owners, so it could be argued that it's the whole "no taxation without representation" thing. Of course, companies are separate legal entities, and pay corporations tax, but company boards don't get a vote.
Well, you can use that hypothetical argument to end democracy in local government entirely. Which many businessmen in many countries would like very much, obviously. Though maybe it's more a reflection of the weakness of local government in Australia than much else.
