Rally called to protest under-fire levy

A RALLY happening this Sunday at Weeroona Oval in Napier Street will band together Country Fire Authority volunteers, farmers and other concerned members of the community to call for the abolition of the controversial Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund (ESVF).

The ESVF replaced the previously existing Fire Services Property Levy in mid-May after legislation was passed in the Victorian Parliament, broadening funding to include agencies such as the State Emergency Service, triple–zero call centres and Emergency Recovery Victoria.

The new levy has been forecast to cost rural Victorian communities an estimated $140 million extra annually.

John Houston, president of the CFA Volunteers Group network, said the tax’s introduction is “dreadfully unfair.”

“It’s going to smash farm budgets, hurt local businesses and cost jobs in our towns and communities,” he claimed.

“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.

“Everybody agrees our emergency services need support.

“But, this tax hits Victorian farmers the hardest – at a time when they’re already struggling through drought and a cost-of-living crisis. How is that fair? How does taxing volunteers make any sense?” Mr Houston asked.

“When you sit down to dinner tonight, remember it’s Victorian farmers who put the food on your plate – the meat, the veg, the milk in your cereal or coffee. Now they’re being taxed into the ground.

“We need to send a clear message to [Premier] Jacinta Allan and her government that this tax must be abolished, so join us in sending that message loud and clear in her own electorate.”

The rally takes place at Weeroona Oval this Sunday 14 September from 11am.