Labor betrays regional Victoria as emergency services tax passed in Parliament

Victorians will be slugged with higher tax rates after Labor’s cruel emergency services tax was rammed through Parliament overnight.

The Emergency Services and Volunteer Fund (ESVF) will see rates increase for all homeowners, business operators, and farmers from July 1, after Labor struck backroom deals with the Greens, Animal Justice, and Legalise Cannabis parties to pass the legislation.

Households will see their rates almost double, commercial properties will be hit with a 100 per cent increase, industrial rates will rise by 64 per cent, and farmers will cop a staggering 150 per cent hike compared to what they previously paid.

Nationals Member for Euroa, Annabelle Cleeland, said the tax was nothing more than a desperate cash grab that would do nothing to fix the real issues plaguing Victoria’s emergency services.

“Every single Victorian who pays rates will be hit by this cruel tax,” Ms Cleeland said.

“But it’s our farmers — many of whom are also CFA volunteers, SES members, and first responders — who will be punished most by this 150 per cent increase.”

“To hit regional communities with this new tax while they’re already battling drought and cost-of-living pressures is unconscionable. It’s a betrayal of the very people who keep our state running and safe.”

The decision comes just days after hundreds of farmers and CFA volunteers, including several from the Euroa electorate, descended on the steps of Parliament to protest the tax. More than 300 CFA brigades were offline in protest last night, and another protest is already planned for this coming Tuesday.

Under the ESVF, funds raised from the tax will now be funnelled into bureaucratic agencies like Triple Zero, which have historically been funded through consolidated revenue — leaving frontline services to fight over a shrinking pool of resources.

“Our local brigades are still fundraising for basic safety gear, yet this government is redirecting tax revenue to bloated city-based departments,” Ms Cleeland said.

“Instead of taxing regional families off their farms, Labor should be investing directly in the facilities, equipment, and support that our volunteers need to keep our communities safe.”

Premier Jacinta Allan refused to address the protest outside Parliament, which Ms Cleeland said was a silence that spoke volumes.

“But CFA volunteers have spoken loudly, and they’re not done yet,” Ms Cleeland said.