The new ESV fund will be collected via council rates notices – Wimmera councils estimate at least an extra $16-million will leave the region through the new tax.
The ESV fund will put a total of $1.6-billion into the State Government coffers, which Labor claims is required to fund VICSES, Triple Zero Victoria, Forest Fire Management Victoria, Country Fire Authority and Fire Rescue Victoria.
While volunteers will be eligible for an exemption rebate, it is understood the refunded amount will be minimal. A bill to introduce the new fund was passed in the lower house of Parliament in April, but failed to pass the upper house.
The bill was then due to come before the upper house yesterday, but Labor pushed back the date of debate until tomorrow, Thursday, with many saying it was an indication that Labor did not have enough of the crossbenchers’ votes to pass the legislation.
Wimmera farmer Andrew Weidemann helped organise yesterday’s rally, which featured speakers Liberal leader Brad Battin, Nationals Victoria leader Danny O’Brien, Victorian Farmers Federation president Brett Hosking, United Firefighter Union secretary Peter Marshall, farmer and BlazeAid founder Kevin Butler and Member for Lowan Emma Kealy.
“It’s not just farmers who are being impacted here – certainly an increase of around 189 per cent for farmers is just insane, but every asset owner, every house owner, anybody who owns a commercial building structure, et cetera, will all be impacted with a doubling of their current fire services levy rates,” Mr Weidemann said.
“There’ll be a continuation of further protests should they vote it in.”
Horsham Mayor Ian Ross said the council was ‘deeply concerned’ about the ESV fund, joining fellow Regional Councils Victoria councils in opposition. Cr Ross said the change in funding models would hurt the Horsham municipality more than most regional cities due to the high proportion of farming land in its total property base.
The levy will raise an additional $3.26-million from Horsham ratepayers – an increase of more than 84 per cent.
He said the increased levy was ‘a staggering impost’ at a time when cost-of-living pressures were already weighing heavily on the community.
“Farmers, families, and small businesses should not be forced to foot the bill for decisions made in Spring Street when every extra dollar we send to Spring Street is a dollar that can’t be spent in a local business or used to pay an employee,” Cr Ross said.
Ararat Rural City Council has strongly advocated against the ESV Fund with a key reasoning being the disproportionate impact the fund will have on the municipality’s agricultural sector, which will have significant flow-on effects throughout the local economy and the broader community.
The increase will cost Ararat municipality, an area hit by drought and fires in the past year, an extra $2.8-million.
Active emergency services volunteers and life members will be eligible for partial exemptions, but there will be conditions on the rebates such as only claiming on their primary place of residence – which is often on a separate title to their primary production properties.
“To penalise a community that has such a strong representation of volunteers, who selflessly give their time and resources to fight fires, is one of the most inequitable decisions I’ve seen from the State Government,” Ararat Mayor Jo Armstong said.
Ms Kealy said the ESV fund was ‘simply outrageous during a drought and cost-of-living crisis’.
“Not only will farmers be hit hard, but the tax for all households and commercial properties will double, the tax for industrial land will go up 64 per cent, and new tax charges will be passed on to renters, driving up the cost of living in Victoria for us all,” she said.
Ms Kealy said it was particularly infuriating that volunteers – who contributed millions to the levy every year – were going to be slugged more.
“Our volunteers are the backbone of firefighting, especially in rural and regional areas,” she said.
“These amazing people give up thousands of hours of their own time to keep our communities safe, and yet not only does the government refuse to give them the equipment they need and deserve, it is also going to force them to pay more to support their communities.
“Labor has flagged a tiny reduction in the levy for volunteers, but they will have to wait until at least mid-2026, and the government can’t even explain who will be eligible and how any rebates will work.”
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