Tuesday, 1 April 2025

Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund

Renee HEATH (Eastern Victoria) (13:53): I rise today to condemn the Allan Labor government’s latest tax grab, this time targeting Victoria’s CFA and SES volunteers through the so-called Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund. This new levy, which will replace the existing fire services property levy, will sting rental providers, farmers, commercial property owners and, most disgracefully, our emergency services volunteers. Despite the Treasurer’s promise that volunteers would be exempt, we are now learning that volunteers must first pay the tax out of pocket and then navigate the bureaucratic rebate process that can take up to two months. Worse, the exemption is capped at $4150, leaving many farmers to foot bills between $5000 and $10,000. These are the very people that risk their lives to protect our communities, and the government is punishing them with red tape and broken promises. Labor says this new tax will raise an extra $2 billion over the forward estimates. But let us be clear: this is not responsible budgeting, it is desperate revenue raising at the expense of those who serve. The Treasurer’s claim that landlords can afford this ignores the reality that these costs will be passed straight to renters, who are already under a lot of pressure due to Labor’s cost-of-living crisis. This is not financial management, and Labor is not delivering cost – (Time expired)