A Bill to legislate the Emergency Services Volunteer Fund will pass the upper house today, Thursday, with Greens and other crossbench MPs set to vote in favour.

The fund will replace the Fire Services Levy from July 1.

The new fund has drawn widespread criticism across regional Victoria with farmers, Country Fire Authority volunteers and councillors joining protests in the past week.

Already defeated in the upper house last month, the bill was due to come before the upper house on Tuesday but Labor delayed the bill until it had support from crossbenchers.

Revenue from the fund is set to pour $1.6-billion into next year’s State Budget, which is due to be handed down on Tuesday.

In the Wimmera, the extra tax will result in about $16-million being taken out of the local economy and handed to government coffers.

After consultation with councils, emergency services and the Victorian Farmers Federation, the government is set to include the following:

· Reduce the variable rate for primary producers land from 83c/ $1000 Capital improvement Value, CIV, to 71.8c/$1000 CIV – reducing the liability payable by farmers;

· Guarantee in legislation that 95 per cent of VICSES ad CFA funding will come from ESVF  and 90 per cent of Fire Rescue Victoria’s annual funding will come the levy;

· Legislate to make it clear that every single dollar collected from the levy must be spent on emergency services;

· Boost transparency by reporting annually how much money has been collected by the ESVF and how that money will be spent;

· Commit to working on an implementation package for councils, including funding for Municipal Association of Victoria;

· Provide partial rebates on the ESVF for farmers eligible for the government’s drought support package.

Greens deputy leader Sarah Mansfield told Parliament  the upper house Greens MPs had made ‘sure emergency services get what they need amid a climate crisis’.

“If we had left the table as many others in this place (Parliament) did, the alternative outcome would have been no funding certainty for these key services, no truck replacements, and in fact likely cuts that would leave communities even more vulnerable  that would leave communities even more vulnerable the next time we have a climate crisis,” she said.

“Importantly in passing this bill, there is increased funding for these services that is protected. It's secure from government decisions down the track that might seek to cut their funding.

 ”As the party for climate action, funding emergency services is non-negotiable for us.”