Budget day fire tax rally: UFU and CFA firefighters join forces
Thousands have descended on state parliament in Melbourne to protest against the new emergency services tax, with some trucks left in the city late in the afternoon.
Farmers and other CFA volunteers have joined the powerful United Firefighters Union in a rally against the new emergency services tax outside parliament on Tuesday, as Treasurer Jaclyn Symes prepared to deliver her first budget.
About 1500 volunteers and their tankers, from 160 brigades, gathered at staging grounds around the state as early as 3am, before sweeping into the city to voice their disgust at the $1.6 billion tax, which will be imposed on all Victorians from July 1.
Merino group CFA volunteer Brad Marson said “there’s one brigade in our area whose members are going to pay $100,000 extra in tax (between them), when they’re already under a huge amount of stress from the drought”.
The Allan government has tried to placate volunteers, many of whom are farmers, by offering partial rebates on the new tax and an extra $15.9 million in drought support.
But drought-affected farmers have dismissed the support as a drop in the ocean compared to the $178m emergency services tax bill they face in the new financial year.
Rupanyup grain grower Andrew Weidemann, who helped co-ordinate a rally of 23 landholder groups on Tuesday this week, said the tax “rips billions out of the regions and sends it straight to government coffers, for years into the future without end.
“It hits the same farmers who are first on the scene – in their own trucks or CFA trucks – in rural emergencies, leaving their farms at their own expense to protect their communities.”
Wimmera farmer and CFA volunteer of 25 years, Ryan Milgate, said: “unless we get some meaningful change,people are very motivated to keep agitating (the state government)”.
Donald farmer David Brennan resigned before the rally from the Corack fire brigade after more than 40 years’ service.
“I want the community to know we didn’t cause this financial hole. (The government) has put us in this financial hole so don’t try and drag money from people to cover their stuff-ups,” he said.
“If we did this on our farm, they’d sell us up and the banks would come and take our money. We haven’t caused this, we’re having to bail them out.”
Gazette farmer and CFA volunteer Elle Moyle, from Pathfinder Angus, said she travelled three-and-a-half hours to attend the rally, taking time out from feeding 3000 cattle during “the worst drought in history”.
“We volunteer to protect lives and property, not to be punished with a tax for doing it. I fight fires and grow food, I shouldn’t have to fight the government too,” Ms Moyle said.
“We stand between flame and farmland voluntarily. This tax betrays that duty and will cripple our rural communities.”
Birchip farmers David and Dianne Ferrier described the levy as an “unfair, unjust tax which is a grab at primary production and volunteers”.
“We’re busy sowing, we’ve given up a day of work. It’s the very first time I’ve protested, it meant so much to us that we felt like we needed to protest. It doesn’t pass any test, let alone the pub test,” Mr Ferrier said.
Thoona farmer and CFA volunteer Kate Reilly said she had significant worries about regional communities and their future.
“It’s not fair. I’ve left lambing ewes that need to be fed, my family, a whole day of work,” she said.
Alfy Rowe, of Sutherlands Creek, said the ESVF would reduce farmers’ ability to manage debt, and would have paramount effects on mental health.
“We’ve given up feeding stock and carting water for livestock to be here, our wives and partners are at home looking after livestock. On one of our farms it’s the first time we’ve ever carted water,” he said.
Tooborac Fire Brigade captain Jason Hagan said they had volunteers unwilling to turn out because of the ESVF.
“They’re that angry they don’t want to turn out. Our ability to protect the community could be diminished,” he said.
“It’s always a battle (to get funding), we’re always playing a part in community fundraising.”
Tooborac volunteer Sean Winder said there was a “disconnect” between the ESVF and receiving much-needed fire equipment.
“As a CFA member I think it’s fraudulent that they’re claiming it to be a levy, but it will go nowhere,” he said.
Under the levy, Lawloit farmer John Bennett believed a metropolitan Melbourne house would pay about $400 compared to a medium-sized Wimmera farm which would pay about $25,000.
“There’ll be trucks left here on the steps of parliament house, nobody in that building will have a licence to drive them, let alone the skills to start them up,” he said.
“Most of the emergency callouts we get are on public land, at the moment parks and forests are poorly managed and we’re paying the bill for that and providing that service for free.”
Premier Jacinta Allan has repeatedly stated every cent of the tax would be used to fund emergency services, without also explaining those services were already funded by through consolidated revenue paid by taxpayers.
UFU secretary Peter Marshall said “it is breathtaking the double accounting and sleight of hand that has been implemented” to the detriment of the good name and standing of volunteers, firefighters, and farmers.
“We want this repressive, regressive new tax rescinded,” Mr Marshall said. “At the very least there should be an immediate moratorium on the enforcement of this bill until a parliamentary inquiry into its effects is completed.”
The government has made some minor amendments to its Fire Services Property Amendment (Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund) Bill 2025, which was passed by parliament last week, including a 16 per cent reduction in the tax rate applied to farmland.
But the concession still means the tax take from Victorian primary producers will still rise from $76m this financial year, under the current Fires Services Property Levy, to $178m in 2025-26.
Volunteer Fire Brigades Victoria chief executive Adam Barnett said “no one is jumping for joy over a 150 per cent tax hike instead of 189 per cent”.
Anger over the tax hike led about 100 brigades to notify fire communications command that they were taking their brigades off line, forcing calls to be diverted to other brigades.
“I hold the Allan Government responsible for treating the volunteer community with such disrespect they have had no choice but to take this sort of action,” Mr Barnett said.
Ms Symes announced the government would “provide partial rebates of the ESVF for farmers eligible for the infrastructure grants program in the Government’s drought support package”, across 24 local government areas.
But the Treasurer is yet to explain how the rebate would work, given the government had already promised a partial rebate on the tax for CFA and VicSES volunteers.
The bulk of the tax hike will be used to fund public servants working at the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action, Triple-0 Victoria, the State Control Centre, Emergency Recovery Victoria, Emergency Management Victoria, Emergency Alert Program, Forest Fire Management Victoria.
Just $50m has been earmarked to support volunteer organisations, such as the CFA and VicSES.
Treasurer Jaclyn said the Government would invest $110 million to deliver a rolling fleet replacement program for VicSES and the CFA – and now Fire Rescue Victoria.
Of that $110m, $40m will go towards FRV ruck replacement and Ms Symes has failed to detail how the remaining $70m is allocated.
As it stands the CFA has an ongoing capital allocation of $10m to $12m a year, to which the government has added another $10m from the new tax.
Mr Barnett said the CFA needed at least $55m a year to come anywhere near replacing its ageing fleet, the oldest in Australia.
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