Burnt by the bill

A LATE night sitting of Victoria's upper house which saw the passing of the government's Emergency Services and Volunteer Fund (ESVF) has failed to quell vocal opposition to the new law. After a marathon sitting on Thursday, the government passed the bill with help from the crossbench, including the Greens, Animal Justice Party, and Legalise Cannabis Victoria, after negotiating amendments which included an average reduction of $150 per year. Local farmers who have spoken to North East Media have said they face increases to the levy of up to and over $4000. The ESVF replaces the previous cheaper Fire Services Levy and will be charged along with council rates each year. On Tuesday 13 May, over 400 CFA and SES volunteers and staff crammed Parliament House's steps to protest against the levy and heard from leaders of farming peak bodies and opposition members. Five fire trucks and other support vehicles blocked one lane of Spring Street as the crowd heard from leaders of peak farming groups and opposition parliamentarians, with protesters chanting 'scrap the tax' between speeches. Member for Eildon Cindy McLeish attended the rally and on Friday questioned what 'promises' were made to the crossbench to secure the upper house vote. “Just when you think the state Labor government can’t get any worse, they do," Ms McLeish said. "We can only guess what deal Labor did with the Greens and Animal Justice to get the fund over the line.” She said the levy would make current tough conditions for farmers even tougher. “The farmers in Mansfield who are in severe drought conditions will not be dancing over dried paddocks about a 150 per cent increase on what they were paying for the Fire Services Levy.” The ESVF will come into effect from July 1, with households seeing their rates almost double, commercial properties increase by 100 per cent, industrial rates by 64 per cent, and farmers paying an extra 150 per cent. In response to the bill passing the upper house, over 300 CFA brigades went offline on Thursday night in protest. VFF chair Brett Hosking told the rally the new levy would affect regional groups such as schools, sports clubs, churches, and charity groups. "That's the impact of taking money out of our rural communities," Mr Hosking said. "It will affect the same people who fight the fires - they're going to get hit with the tax. "We need to scrub the tax." Yarck CFA Volunteers Norm Stokes and Maureen Bond attended the rally and said they were appalled at the ‘hypocrisy’ of a government naming the levy as for emergency service volunteers and using it to pay for public servants. “This government has a habit of misnaming things so they can sound like something better than what they really are,” Mr Stokes said. “We know in fact that we may not see any of the fund.” Ms Bond said Yarck CFA was a Breathing Apparatus Brigade which required an extra room for that specific service. “We have been needing a new building for some time now as ours is now not fit for purpose,” Ms Bond said. “They are doing an extension to pacify us a bit while we wait for a new building.” Mr Stokes said the brigade had been on the CFA ‘hitlist’ for a new building for over a decade. “We are overdue for a new station, but they keep on putting it out into the never-never,” he said. “The CFA has bought land for us, they have had it for years, they keep on putting it back. “But the government is basically broke, and the new levy is not going to change that either.” Ms Bond said the levy had affected morale in the CFA. “It’s not just affecting our brigade, but all of the brigades in our district,” she said. “There's now a lot of apathy, a lot of wind that's gone out of their sails.” Mr Stokes said that the loyalty of CFA members to their communities in the event of a fire remained solid. “At the end of the day when something big does happen, we do all still rally around the community,” he said. “And I think sometimes the government is going to take advantage of that. “They know we are going to turn out because we do it for our community.” Ms McLeish accused the government of failing regional communities. “Farmers are selling stock, diminishing their herds and have failed grain crops due to lack of rain," she said. “The prospects of farmers making a profit over the next 12 months period is grim. "The thought of another huge tax slumped on them is too much for many to bear.”

Burnt by the bill

Joyce and Haines clash over regional renewables support

Net zero repeal would hit regions the hardest: Haines

McLeish targets road neglect and illegal dumping

4000 back change in legal driving age

Haines sworn in for third term

Rufous Whistler – arrival of a summer songbird

Bombers go back-to-back in A grade

“No stone unturned” – Police committed to the long-haul in manhunt

Start your engines, Wilby Drags are back

Most popular stories