![\"\"](\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2026\/05\/UFUBorough_66236.jpg\")
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UFU Victorian secretary Peter Marshall said the state Labor government’s $365 million firefighting package last month was a small percentage of the more than $5.4 billion expected to be raised through the Emergency Services Volunteer Fund.<\/p>\n
“This is about political expediency in an election cycle, not fixing a system that firefighters have been warning is under strain for years,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSixty-five per cent of the professional firefighting fleet is already past its service life.<\/p>\n
“Firefighters are turning out every day in trucks that should have been replaced years ago, and this announcement will not scratch the surface of what is actually required.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Emergency Services Volunteer Fund replaced the fire services property levy on 1 July 2025.<\/p>\n
The fund is intended to pay for emergency service response across the state.<\/p>\n
Labor says it continues to invest in record levels in fire services.<\/p>\n
“We have the best funded fire services and the fastest response times in the country \u2013 we continue to deliver record investment to back firefighters and keep Victorians safe,” a Victorian government spokesperson said.<\/p>\n
FRV had not responded to questions as this newspaper went to press.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
VICTORIAN firefighters say a fire in Moolap needing a response from the other side of Port Phillip Bay underscores its argument for new fire trucks. In a video posted on the United Firefighters Union’s (UFU) Victorian branch Facebook page last week, a UFU member said a ladder truck was sent out in response to a […]<\/p>\n