OPPOSITION to the state government’s new Emergency Services Volunteer Fund (ESVF) was vocal during Wednesday's forum hosted by local member Annabelle Cleeland and state Nationals leader Danny O’Brien in Euroa.
Over 50 locals made up of emergency services volunteers, staff, and farmers met at the William Pearson Memorial Hall to discuss the impact that the new levy would have on farmers and emergency service workers.
Under the ESVF, rates for town households are estimated to almost double compared to the previous levy, commercial rates will increase by 100 per cent, and industrial rates by 64 per cent.
Farmers can face an increase of up to 189 per cent.
Ms Cleeland said the government was targeting regional Victoria.
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“During question time in response to our concerns about the pressures into regional Victoria, the Premier said ‘we're going for those that can afford it – you're a landowner, you've got equity, you can afford it’,” Ms Cleeland said.
“This will be a turning point for regional Victoria.”
Ms Cleeland also said the coalition was supportive of sustainable funding for volunteers and that the proposed bill demonstrated ‘deliberate accounting creativity’ to coverup where the money will be spent.
“And we have to specify that because in the next week we’re going to have mud thrown at us to say we are not supportive of volunteers, and that’s just not the case.
“They know that this is going to cripple people, they know that people will have to sell their farms as a result or sell a second property or super investments.
“If this doesn't rile you and encourage you to stand up for our communities, I don't know what will.”
Mr O’Brien, who is also Shadow Minister for Emergency Services, said the proposed levy went beyond funding emergency service volunteers and would be used for raising general state revenue.
“We're calling it straight out the emergency services tax, because in our view that's what it is,” Mr O’Brien said.
“The government would have us believe this is about providing sustainable funding to the emergency services, (but) we think it's simply a revenue measure.”
Mr O’Brien said there was also insufficient detail on where the revenue would be spent.
“There's nothing in the legislation that says the SES will get, say, 13 per cent of it or anything like that,” he said.
“In fact, the legislation simply says ‘these agencies’, and our concern is that we don't even know that they won't be able to use some of this money to cover their usual costs, (such as) pay the payroll in the department or pay the HR in the department.
“We're told that the definition is that it can only be used for emergency management activities, but how broadly do you define that?”
Ms Cleeland said there was a consensus of frustration among volunteers within both the SES and CFA about the new tax.
SES Euroa’s Georgie Cardillo and Loretta York attended the meeting and said they had been given very little information on the levy beforehand.
“SES is forgotten about, we always have been forgotten about,” Ms Cardillo said.
“I suppose (the forum) was us being included, but we also were not sold the full story before.
“We did not know the increase was going to be that big for farmers – we were never told that.
“It was sold to us as this amazing thing because we were suddenly going to get funding that we didn’t really have and this was going to solve that problem.
"But I don’t want people to get hurt in the process obviously.”
Ms York said she mistakenly thought the levy would increase total funding.
“It was always flagged to us as an addition but not by taking away the base funding,” Ms York said.
“It was sold to us initially as an increase.”
In response to questions from The Euroa Gazette to Treasurer Jaclyn Symes, a spokesperson from the government said the ESVF would ensure sustainable funding and equipment for the state's emergency services and that the levy increase to the average farm would be around $680 per year.
The spokesperson also said the state's primary producers had been exempt from land tax and had their payroll tax slashed.
"The Treasurer has met with regional councils about the implementation of the ESVF and the Government will continue to work closely with them," the spokesperson said.
“We will always back our hard-working farmers."
Strathbogie farmer David Hamilton runs livestock on several properties and said the new levy would be an added strain on his business after a rates increase of 40 per cent last year.
"Even if you take off my primary residence, it means it will go up by double," Mr Hamilton said.
"It was just over two thousand bucks, and now it will go from $3500 to $7000, that does not include also over the last how many years that land tax has gone up."
Mr Hamilton said the current dry conditions had also put strain on his farm.
"Just because of the drought conditions alone I had to sell stock just today, so this (levy) increase is another five animals you've got to raise just to pay for the fire services levy."
As captain of a 40-strong CFA brigade, Mr Hamilton will also be responsible for determining which volunteers will be exempt from the levy.
"I have just found out that I have to go through my lists to see who qualify for the exemptions.
"As it is, I reckon every single captain would do at least two weeks of volunteer work, let alone all the other members of the brigade.
"It's just another ask."
Mr O’Brien said the coalition would remain committed to sustainable funding of emergency services and that the government had not made a case that the current fire services property levy needed changing.
He said the new bill would see other agencies taken out of consolidated revenue funding, such as Triple Zero Victoria, Forest Fire Management, Emergency Management Victoria, and the State Control Centre, and come under the umbrella of the levy.
“All of (these) have always been core government businesses and funded by consolidated revenue,” Mr O’Brien said.
“They're now going to be funded by this new version, which will save the government about a billion dollars a year on their own figures that they gave us.”
The bill was first announced on 13 December and passed through the lower house on 20 March before the upper house adjourned it on 3 April.
Debate resumed in the upper house this week in anticipation of the levy’s implementation on 1 July.
Mr O’Brien said a lack of upper house support had stalled the bill.
“They didn't put it to a vote (in April) because clearly we were opposed and the cross-benchers as well, including the Greens, the Animal Justice Party and the Legalised Cannabis Party, who usually the government relies on to get legislation through,” Mr O’Brien said.
He also accused the government of needing to rush the bill through the upper house before the state budget on Tuesday, 20 May.
“They budgeted for $2.1 billion over the next three years,” he said.
“If they don't get the legislation through next week, they will have a big hole in their budget.
“I would suspect that the government will have to have two versions of the budget ready to go, subject to whether they get this legislation through or not.”
