24 April 2026
Statement from Annabelle Cleeland on CFA funding announcement
That $100 million stretched over ten years is a slap in the face to our local firefighters, who only months ago were on the front line in January, protecting lives, homes and farms at huge personal risk.
Families, farmers and small businesses are paying more than ever under the Allan Labor Government’s $5 billion Emergency Services Tax, yet not a single upgrade or project from this announcement is coming back to our region.
I’ve spoken with local firefighters, and no one believes anything will change on the ground. There isn’t one project or upgrade for brigades across the Euroa electorate, despite our region being among the hardest hit by the January bushfires.
In Strathbogie, volunteers are still getting changed on a public footpath and operating out of a private garage. They’re even borrowing water just to function. That is not a modern emergency service.
In the Benalla Group, 19 brigades and 835 volunteers are relying on 17 single cab vehicles, including three two-wheel drives. Some are more than 30 years old, with Thoona and Samaria running a 35-year-old truck, Molyullah 34 years, and Lima South 33 years.
After losing two crew cab trucks in the 2025 Goomalibee fire, those brigades were given 30-year-old single cab replacements, meaning they can no longer meet strike team requirements.
Victorians are being hit with this $5 billion tax, yet Labor still won’t say how much is actually going back into the CFA.
In Benalla, ratepayers are paying 81 per cent more. In Strathbogie, it’s up to 91 per cent.
Of the $1.55 billion collected in just one year, only $100 million has been allocated to new CFA vehicles, spread over ten years. That’s just 0.65 per cent of expected revenue going towards new trucks.
Firefighters aren’t buying it, and nor should they. They’re being asked to do more with ageing equipment and inadequate facilities, while their communities pay more than ever.
The Emergency Services Tax is a cash cow to prop up Labor’s debt, not a genuine investment in frontline services.
The Nationals will scrap this tax and make sure funding goes where it should, into modern equipment, proper stations and real support for the volunteers who protect our communities.
Our firefighters deserve nothing less.