The Victorian government's controversial emergency services tax has passed both houses of state parliament to the ire of farmers, many of whom will now pay tens of thousands of dollars on top of their existing rates bill.
Legislation for the Victorian government's controversial Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund has passed parliament. The government and crossbench politicians struck a deal last night, with amendments made to get the vote over the line.
Farmers who already pay big rates bills say the new levy will add to their financial pressures.Share article The Victorian government's Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund has passed the upper house of parliament during a late night sitting of parliament, with the support of the Greens and members of the crossbench.All landholders in Victoria will pay more for the ESVF, but farmers in particular are facing increases of tens of thousands of dollars.The new tax will raise funds for fire services,Farmers who volunteer with the CFA say they will resign in protest over the ESVF.Victorian Treasurer Jaclyn Symes said amendments were made before the vote to address farmers' concerns. "I've had constructive conversations with members of parliament … local councils, the farmers federation and members from the CFA and SES,"The government has also slightly eased the increase to the levy farmers pay, from a planned 189 per cent increase, to 150 per cent.Farmers dealing with prolonged dry conditions will be spared big hikes temporarily, and Ms Symes said there were also guarantees around how the money would be spent. "We will ensure there is a system where farmers in those impacted will not have an increase on their levy whilst it is in drought," Ms Symes said. CFA and SES volunteers will be able to apply for a rebate after paying the levy, but if they hold multiple titles, the rebate will only be available for a single property.United Firefighters Union Victorian branch secretary Peter Marshall accused the state government of revenue raising to offset skyrocketing state debt. "Every member of the community is going to be affected by this dirty deal that was done in the darkness of last night," he said.ABC News: Stephanie Anderson"The government is broke, it's spent too much money. "What they're doing now is trying to make all of the community pay, and they're doing on the back of the goodwill toward emergency service workers."Rupanyup farmer Andrew Weidemann said the new levy was "disgraceful", not just for farmers but for all Victorian ratepayers."It's been stereotyped as a farmer's issue, but it's actually everybody's issue. "We've all seen the wasteful government spending, and now the asset owners across Victoria have to bear the cost of this." While farmers will be hit with the biggest increase, rates will rise for all property owners and double for home owners. The message was clear from these angry farmers and CFA volunteers at a Parliament House protest earlier this week."It’s quite unique that we would be aligning with a group that has put a lot of pressure on the CFA in general over the past 10 years, but the reality is this is an absolutely disgraceful levy," he said.Stories from farms and country towns across Australia, delivered each Friday.
Emergency Services And Volunteers Fund CFA Farmers Jaclyn Symes Peter Marshall Emergency Services Tax Victorian Government Crossbench Fire Levy
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