The controversial emergency services tax was passed into law in the dead of night and farmers are furious.

The bill to establish the Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund passed the Victorian parliament in the early hours of Friday morning after the Labor Government brokered a deal to secure crossbench support.

The levy will replace the Fire Services Property Levy from July 1 and expand coverage to other emergency and disaster bodies, including the State Emergency Service.

Drumanure farmer and CFA volunteer Eddy Rovers expressed his disgust at the increased tax.

“I’ve got to pay $14,000, and I’m expected to get out of bed in the middle of the night, jump in an old fire truck and put out fires.

“It’s flamin’ stupid.”

Mr Rovers runs wheat and sheep on properties in the Drumanure district and has been a CFA volunteer for more than 30 years.

“I’m just about on the edge of resigning.

“This tax is all about the state running out of money and the government is desperate to find some more cash to pay for the Big Build in Melbourne.”

The new tax was originally projected to lift the average annual bill for residential home owners by $63 and $678 for primary producers, sparking protests from farmers and firefighters on the steps of state parliament.

But under last-minute changes, the Allan Government agreed to VFF demands to lower the rate for primary production land by 16 per cent, and rebates for CFA and SES volunteers and life members.

Farmers will also be offered partial rebates but they are limited to those eligible for a temporary drought support package.

VFF president Brett Hosking remains gravely concerned about the impact this levy will have on farmers, who are already under significant pressure from drought conditions and broader economic challenges.

“The sheer reality is that this levy will create a crippling financial burden to farmers,” Mr Hosking said.

“This decision shows a clear disconnect between our state government and the day-to-day realities faced by those on the land.”

Councils across regional Victoria and Opposition MPs have joined the angry chorus, describing it as a ‘cruel tax’ that has ‘betrayed regional Victoria’.

Greater Shepparton City Council Mayor Shane Sali summed up local government reactions when he said his council was extremely disappointed that the fund will lead to money being directly taken from regional Victoria.

“This legislation will result in millions of additional dollars being collected from regional communities like Greater Shepparton,” Cr Sali said.

“For our municipality alone, this change means an increase of more than $4.7 million compared to what is currently collected under the Fire Services Property Levy.

“Under the new structure, the primary production variable rate will rise sharply from 28.7 cents to 71.8 cents per $1000 of Capital Improved Value (CIV), a shift that disproportionately affects regional and rural areas.”

Labor’s legislation passed Victoria’s upper house with the support of the Animal Justice Party, The Greens and Legalise Cannabis Party.

State Member for Northern Victoria Wendy Lovell said Country News readers deserved to know how their local members of parliament voted on the “egregious” tax.

“Northern Victoria region has five representatives in the upper house, three of whom voted against, and two of whom voted to impose this tax on their constituents,” Ms Lovell said.

The three who voted against are Liberal MP Wendy Lovell, Nationals MP Gaelle Broad and One Nation MP Rikkie-Lee Tyrrell.

The two who voted in favour of the tax are Animal Justice Party MP Georgie Purcell and Labor MP (and state treasurer) Jaclyn Symes.

Some regional communities were without local CFA brigades on Thursday night after crews took themselves offline as parliament debated the levy legislation.

CFA acting chief officer Garry Cook said the CFA acknowledged “we have had a number of our brigades reporting unavailability overnight and today [Friday] due to crewing issues”.

“We are continuing to monitor the situation but want to reassure the community that we have operating procedures in place to ensure that when brigades are offline we can respond neighbouring brigades to protect communities or put in place alternative arrangements,” Mr Cook said.

“The safety of life and property is always our number one priority. We expect that our brigades will turn out to protect their communities as they always have done in their time of need.

“CFA acknowledges that our volunteers and brigades, many of whom are from rural communities, have had a long summer of fire activity and are facing a lot of pressure as a result of drought which is impacting their livelihoods.

“We respect their rights to engage in matters relevant to their local communities, including those who are concerned about the potential impact of the Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund.”

The expanded levy was originally forecast to raise an extra $2.14 billion over the next three financial years when unveiled in the mid-year budget update.

Treasurer Jaclyn Symes, who will hand down her first budget on May 20, said it was “not accurate” farmers were getting whacked more than others.

She said the levy would raise an extra $600 million a year, with 73 per cent coming from metropolitan properties and 27 per cent from regional properties.

“I don’t think it’s got through to everyone that if you’re a (CFA) volunteer you’re exempt from this levy,” Ms Symes said.

“Many farmers are also CFA volunteers. So there will be many, many farmers who are also volunteers who will not be paying the levy.”

A government statement said: “Every single dollar raised by this new fund will support our emergency services — helping them to keep communities safe year-round.”

The government will guarantee in legislation that 95 per cent of VICSES and CFA funding will come from the emergency services fund and 90 per cent of FRV’s annual funding will come from the levy.

Opposition leader Brad Battin has not committed to repealing the levy if the Coalition wins the next state election in November 2026. He has instead vowed to review it.

– with AAP.

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