A Moorabool councillor has slammed the Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund (ESVF), calling for council to formally write to the state expressing its concerns.
Standing in the chamber during Moorabool’s June 4 meeting to express his strong disapproval, Cr Jarrod Bingham said he wanted to “speak about something that affects not just farmers, but entire rural communities”.
“What they have introduced isn’t just unfair – it is unjust. Farmers are the backbone of our country, often work tirelessly against the odds to feed our nation, care for the land, and provide support to their local communities,” Cr Bingham said.
“Yet this government has chosen to punish them with a new tax that threatens their very livelihood,” he said.
On Friday May 30, the government announced that as part of its drought package all Victorian primary producers would pay the same rate of the ESVF as they paid in 2024/25, remaining at 28.7 cents for every $1000 of a property’s capital improved value.
Cr Bingham said that this is “not a victory”.
“In the face of overwhelming backlash, this Labor government has now admitted to their mistakes and have decided to postpone the tax … but let me be clear … it’s a temporary pause, a political calculation made because they know that they’ve awoken a sleeping giant,” he said
“This entire situation is so absurd, so ridiculous, that it could be made into a dark political comedy – and I’ve got the perfect title for it Mr Mayor: ‘50 Shades of Labor: Govern Me Harder, Daddy – a tragic satire on a government that punishes those who can least afford it.”
Cr Bingham’s notice of motion included calling for council to write to the state to communicate its concerns with the levy, acknowledge “the alarming increase in total revenue collected under the current scheme” with local CFA brigades receiving “only minimal funding,” demanding the state provides “full transparency by supplying the specific legislation” that mandates councils to collect the ESVF and transfer collected funds “without oversight or community consultation”.
A government spokesperson said the ESVF “is about making sure our emergency services have the sustainable funding and equipment they need to keep Victorians safe and to recover from bushfires, floods and storms – disasters which disproportionately impact regional Victorians”.
“By capping the rate of the [ESVF] for primary production properties, we’re ensuring farmers can remain fully focused on their drought response and recovery,” the spokesperson said.
Star Weekly understands that the government will administer the rebate for eligible CFA and VICSES members and has provided additional funding to support councils in the implementation of the fund.
