CFA volunteers walk off job to protest new fire tax

Large parts of regional Victoria were without volunteer firefighters on Thursday night, in an apparent protest against a new state government tax that passed as law early Friday morning.

Volunteers at dozens of regional fire brigades refused to respond to emergencies as a new fire levy was debated in the upper house.

CFA volunteers in regional Victoria were unavailable to fight fires on Thursday night.

Treasurer Jaclyn Symes confirmed to parliament late on Thursday that she was aware of the action.

Country Fire Authority acting chief officer Garry Cook said in a statement on Thursday night that the CFA was aware of the lack of volunteers and that there were protocols in place to deal with the situation.

“We are continuing to monitor the situation to ensure brigades are notified of emergencies in their communities,” he said.

“Under the operational systems in place, when any brigade is offline, neighbouring brigades are notified and can respond, ensuring our communities are protected.

“We expect that our brigades will turn out to protect their communities as they always have done in their time of need.”

The CFA has 1200 brigades statewide, with almost 52,000 volunteers and 2331 vehicles.

The Age was aware of at least 25 CFA brigades – home to 30 tankers – that were unavailable to fight fires in areas across south-west Victoria and the Central Highlands.

The new legislation more than doubles the fire services levy rate, which is used to pay for vehicles and other amenities for emergency services, such as the CFA.

Premier Jacinta Allan defended the levy on Friday morning, saying more was being demanded of emergency service workers and volunteers.

“Taking an existing levy mechanism, recognising that more is being asked of our emergency services, we’ve expanded that existing mechanism so we’re covering more of our emergency services, and we’re going to provide them with additional support,” Allan told reporters.

Victorian Opposition Leader Brad Battin said the tax was “a tax on everyone, to fund things the government’s been funding forever” through general revenue.

The fire levy was one of 60 new taxes the Liberal Party had to review, he said.

A CFA crew fighting fires in Cape Otway in January 2025.Credit: CFA/Facebook

“Our priority would [be to] do the best thing we can to ensure we can either lower it, or do what we can in the future to remove it, because our goal will always be less taxes in Victoria,” Battin told 3AW on Friday morning.

Farmers in particular are angry about the increase, which is tied to land values and comes after more than a year of tough drought conditions that have impacted their income. CFA volunteers will be exempt from the levy.

Symes on Friday morning rejected an assertion farmers would be hit harder by the levy than other Victorians. The emergency services volunteer fund would raise about $600 million a year in revenue, and 73 per cent of that would come from metropolitan properties, she said.

Further to that, 27 per cent would come from regional properties, and 10 per cent from primary production, Symes said.

“The average increase for a medium farm will be about $10 a week,” Symes told ABC Radio Melbourne.

“We have listened, we have made changes, and will continue to engage with farmers.”

The government would continue to talk to the CFA about the benefits of the levy, Symes said.

Victorian Nationals leader Danny O’Brien earlier criticised the new tax.

“Farmers facing a 189 per cent tax increase aren’t going to thank Labor or the Greens because their tax increase is now only 150 per cent,” he said, referring to amendments that dropped the original levy rate for farmers from 83¢ for every $1000 of a property’s capital improved value to 71.8¢.

Jonathan Keith, deputy group captain for the CFA’s Pyrenees brigade, said brigades began to walk off the job about 5pm on Thursday.

“I was carting water for the stock – because we’ve got no water – and I got a phone call from my son to say, ‘Have you got your fire radio with you? Have you heard the fire radio traffic? There are hundreds of brigades calling in’. It’s just built momentum,” Keith said.

“Somebody’s had the initiative to get this started, and word’s gotten around really quickly. Everyone in the CFA in the country is just beyond pissed off with this … Our 13 brigades around the Pyrenees are currently offline.”

Keith, who lost stock and fencing in the 2024 Bayindeen fire, said he and many others wouldn’t be able to pay the new levy.

“This is just a flat-out tax on our land,” he said. “We are fighting the biggest fire we have ever had to confront [with this levy].”

Victoria’s upper house debated the laws late into Thursday night. It was passed with amendments with support from Greens, Legalise Cannabis and Animal Justice Party crossbench MPs.

It will now become law after passing the lower house early on Friday morning, ensuring the revenue from the charge is secured ahead of Tuesday’s state budget.

Agriculture Minister Ros Spence on Friday also announced an expanded drought assistance package of $15.9 million, taking the government’s total contribution to $29.4 million since September.

This is largely made up of the On-Farm Drought Infrastructure Grant program, which has so far been provided to more than 1599 farmers in south-west Victoria.

The package already applies to 11 government areas and will be expanded to the West Wimmera, Horsham, Northern Grampians, Hepburn, Moorabool, Ballarat, Towong, Mornington Peninsula, Bass Coast, Cardinia, Baw Baw, Casey, South Gippsland and French Island.

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