The Nationals’ Member for Euroa, Annabelle Cleeland, has called out the Allan Labor Government for its ongoing neglect of CFA volunteers, after repeated local concerns and calls for upgrades continue to be ignored.
Strathbogie’s CFA brigade is still operating out of a shed with no toilets, no running water and no changerooms, despite being in a high-risk bushfire area and having multiple female volunteers.
“They have been pleading for support for years and still have nothing to show for it,” Ms Cleeland said.
“This is not how you treat the people who put their lives on the line for all of us.”
Ms Cleeland recently wrote to the Minister for Emergency Services urging urgent upgrades to the station after local concerns were raised. The Minister’s response offered no funding or commitment, only a note that they will “continue to monitor and assess” the situation.
“It’s hard to fathom what further monitoring and assessment is needed when the conditions are so clearly unacceptable,” Ms Cleeland said.
The failure to support Strathbogie CFA is part of a broader pattern of underinvestment in volunteer-led fire services.
This year’s Victorian State Budget includes just $13.5 million for regional CFA station upgrades, with no new CFA tankers listed in the forward estimates.
Parliament’s Public Accounts and Estimates Committee has also confirmed that CFA funding as a whole is down by $42 million this year.
Meanwhile, every Victorian who pays rates will soon see the new ESVF appear on their notice – a tax Ms Cleeland says is doing little to improve frontline capability.
“Every dollar from this new tax should be going directly to CFA stations, trucks and gear – not bureaucracy,” Ms Cleeland said.
“Instead, our volunteers are being left to beg for scraps while the government plugs budget holes.
“The government is happy to tax every homeowner, farmer and small business across regional Victoria but when it comes to delivering the bare minimum for our CFA brigades, they go missing.
“Regional CFA volunteers don’t want special treatment. They just want basic facilities to do their job safely.”
The Liberals and Nationals remain committed to scrapping the ESVF and restoring proper, transparent funding for frontline emergency services.