Moorabool mayor Paul Tatchell has slammed the the state government’s Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund (ESVF) and believes “country people are getting belted with fees and charges”.
Cr Tatchell said the ESVF “will impact rural communities far more than urban ratepayers, which is incredibly unfair and cruel to farmers in particular, who are already facing many hardships”.
“There are fairer ways to do this and it’s a shame the Victorian Government is using our rural property owners to claw back some of their huge debt … it needs to be urgently reconsidered or the consequences could be severe for our primary producers, which in turn means severe for all Victorians who rely on food production,” he said.
“Councils are forced to add this onto every rates notice we send out, we are a collection agency for the Victorian Government, but when ratepayers see this massive increase, some will understandably think council has imposed this extra cost.
“If it’s not the levy, it’s the land tax, the valuations are coming in late … before budgets, so they’re not coming there when budgets are due … they’re making it incredibly difficult for country people when we know all of the investment is going to the city.”
Star Weekly understands that Moorabool council received preliminary figures from the Valuer-General Victoria on March 17.
He said that he feels the “disparity between the take and the give is enormous,” and that he is “absolutely frustrated with the fact that country people are being treated with absolute contempt.”
“Not only that, we’ve got to collect it as a council – collect the money … I just think it’s very, very … dishonest. And I think all forms of government are addicted to taxes, and I care about people really,” he said.
“That’s my job. I’m in the people business.”
State treasurer Jaclyn Symes said the ESVF “will give emergency services the funding and equipment they need as they face natural disasters which are happening more often and becoming more destructive.”
Emergency Services Minister Vicki Ward said that the “new funding model is giving our incredible emergency service workers and volunteers the modern equipment they need to help keep communities safe.”
