A new levy from the State Government set to strip rural Victorian communities of $140 million – including $4.55 million from
the East Gippsland shire – will
begin on July 1.
The Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund (ESVF), the replacement of the current Fire Services Property Levy, was passed in Parliament in the early hours of Friday, May 16 and is awaiting Royal Assent.
Since Friday, Country Fire Authority (CFA) volunteers around the state have stood down in protest, listed their CFA trucks ‘offline’, hung their uniforms out on fences and in some cases have resigned from the organisation they have served for decades.
Some farmers will see an increase in fees of around 150 per cent, and in rural areas it’s the farmers who turnout to emergencies like vehicle accidents, storms and fires.
“It’s frightening they can tax us like this,” farmer and CFA member, Simon Lawlor, of Omeo, said.
“The complete disregard for rural communities is incredible, they’ve really increased that divide,
that chasm between rural areas
and the city.”
He says he isn’t a hundred per
cent sure yet how the levy will affect his farming business, but he knows “it will hurt”.
Mr Lawlor said they had faced fires on and off since 2003, and volunteers had spent every second summer fighting bushfires.
“They’ve sort of got us over a barrel, if we step away from the CFA, we’re hurting ourselves,
it’s not like we’ll get help from another organisation, at some point we’ll need those services,” Mr Lawlor said.
“In small, remote places like ours the volunteer community is the heart and soul of the whole community.
“They’re turning us against
each other.
“I’m completely disillusioned.”
Huge protests on the steps of Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne, have been in effect this week and last week with
local brigade captains from Glenaladale, Meerlieu and Fernbank attending alongside more than 100 tankers and 1000 firefighters from across the state attending yesterday’s protest, including
Meerlieu Fire Brigade captain, James Blandford.
“We’re doing this to stand up for what’s right for farmers and the CFA,” he said.
“The CFA is made up from about
60 per cent farmers and those in the west have been on trucks all summer fighting fires.
Continued page 2
From page 1
“Now they’re going through a one-in-100-year drought and now they’re expected to pay more tax.
“Scrap the tax.”
Buchan farmer, Rick Hodge, said the move was “typical of a Labor government”.
“They’re giving it to the people who don’t produce and taking it from the people who do produce,” Mr Hodge said.
“They’ll ruin country volunteer organisations and not just
the CFA.
“They need to support production, especially primary production, otherwise the
money runs out.”
“Farmers struggle for money like everyone else, they’re just an easy target because of their assets.”
On February 19, East Gippsland Shire Council (EGSC) mayor, John White, labelled the new levy “an attack on our small businesses, farmers and households at the worst possible time”.
“In our area, the greatest impact will be on primary producers. We have 3519 primary producers who will see increases due to these levy changes,” Mr
White said.
On March 26, EGSC released a statement from Rural Councils Victoria (RCV) that said the additional tax take from East Gippsland would be $4.55 million, and for each rural council area, the average additional tax take would be $3.7 million.
In the release, Rural Councils Victoria (RCV) Chair Cr Rob Amos warned the new levy would “smash farm budgets, hurt local businesses and cause job losses in towns and communities”.
Mr Amos said the Victorian government said CFA and SES volunteers would be exempt from the new ESVF levy.
“But this is only partially true, as the exemption will only apply to one rateable property. Most farmers hold the title for numerous rateable properties and will therefore still be required to pay a significant fee,” Mr Amos said.
Local MP Tim Bull says it is nothing more than a cash grab to prop up a State Government that cannot manage money.
