Firefighters, farmers in 11th-hour bid to scuttle levy
The Victorian Labor government wants to replace the state's fire services property levy with a emergency services and volunteers fund from July 1.
Under the tax change, households across the state are expected to pay an extra $63 a year on average and farmers an extra $678 a year.
The levy is forecast to raise an extra $765 million a year by 2027/28 to fund more agencies including the State Emergency Service, Triple Zero Victoria and Emergency Recovery Victoria.
With the legislation scheduled for debate this week, Country Fire Authority volunteers and farmers were among several hundred people to rally outside Victoria's parliament on Tuesday.
They chanted "scrap the tax" in front of fire trucks and held signs with slogans such as "no farms, no food, no future" and "burn the levy, not our wallets".
A speaker said Premier Jacinta Allan and Treasurer Jaclyn Symes were invited but did not show up, while another said his annual levy bill was going to rise up to 189 per cent as a farmer.
"We've got to ... make Jacinta and Jaclyn uncomfortable," he said.
"The next election is one-and-a-half years away. They are on the skids. This is wrong."
South Australia has offered drought-affected farmers receiving federal assistance a rebate for its 2025/26 emergency services levy.
In Victoria, only CFA volunteers have been told they can access a rebate.
Ms Symes, who will hand down her first budget on May 20, hinted relief was in the offing for drought-hit farmers when asked if she would follow SA's lead.
"I live in regional Victoria. I'm talking to these farmers every day," she said in the upper house.
"When it comes to support for farmers, there will be more to say in coming days."
Ms Allan said the levy was being expanded for the exact same reason farmers were struggling: climate change.
"As a government, we're acknowledging that change," she told reporters.
"We're acknowledging that increased pressure on farmers, pressure on country communities and pressure on our emergency services to respond to this changed environment."
Opposition Leader Brad Battin suggested supermarket food prices would increase if farmers were forced to pass on the additional costs.
"This is going to impact each and every farmer across our state," he said.
"Therefore it is going to impact the entire state."
Legislation for the expanded levy stalled in the upper house in early April, with the Allan government unable to wrangle enough crossbench support.
Debate on the bill has been pushed back to Thursday, but Ms Symes remained confident it would pass either this sitting week or next.
Hundreds of volunteer firefighters and farmers have banded together in a last-ditch effort to stop the controversial expansion of an emergency services levy.
The Victorian Labor government wants to replace the state's fire services property levy with a emergency services and volunteers fund from July 1.
Under the tax change, households across the state are expected to pay an extra $63 a year on average and farmers an extra $678 a year.
The levy is forecast to raise an extra $765 million a year by 2027/28 to fund more agencies including the State Emergency Service, Triple Zero Victoria and Emergency Recovery Victoria.
With the legislation scheduled for debate this week, Country Fire Authority volunteers and farmers were among several hundred people to rally outside Victoria's parliament on Tuesday.
They chanted "scrap the tax" in front of fire trucks and held signs with slogans such as "no farms, no food, no future" and "burn the levy, not our wallets".
A speaker said Premier Jacinta Allan and Treasurer Jaclyn Symes were invited but did not show up, while another said his annual levy bill was going to rise up to 189 per cent as a farmer.
"We've got to ... make Jacinta and Jaclyn uncomfortable," he said.
"The next election is one-and-a-half years away. They are on the skids. This is wrong."
South Australia has offered drought-affected farmers receiving federal assistance a rebate for its 2025/26 emergency services levy.
In Victoria, only CFA volunteers have been told they can access a rebate.
Ms Symes, who will hand down her first budget on May 20, hinted relief was in the offing for drought-hit farmers when asked if she would follow SA's lead.
"I live in regional Victoria. I'm talking to these farmers every day," she said in the upper house.
"When it comes to support for farmers, there will be more to say in coming days."
Ms Allan said the levy was being expanded for the exact same reason farmers were struggling: climate change.
"As a government, we're acknowledging that change," she told reporters.
"We're acknowledging that increased pressure on farmers, pressure on country communities and pressure on our emergency services to respond to this changed environment."
Opposition Leader Brad Battin suggested supermarket food prices would increase if farmers were forced to pass on the additional costs.
"This is going to impact each and every farmer across our state," he said.
"Therefore it is going to impact the entire state."
Legislation for the expanded levy stalled in the upper house in early April, with the Allan government unable to wrangle enough crossbench support.
Debate on the bill has been pushed back to Thursday, but Ms Symes remained confident it would pass either this sitting week or next.
Hundreds of volunteer firefighters and farmers have banded together in a last-ditch effort to stop the controversial expansion of an emergency services levy.
The Victorian Labor government wants to replace the state's fire services property levy with a emergency services and volunteers fund from July 1.
Under the tax change, households across the state are expected to pay an extra $63 a year on average and farmers an extra $678 a year.
The levy is forecast to raise an extra $765 million a year by 2027/28 to fund more agencies including the State Emergency Service, Triple Zero Victoria and Emergency Recovery Victoria.
With the legislation scheduled for debate this week, Country Fire Authority volunteers and farmers were among several hundred people to rally outside Victoria's parliament on Tuesday.
They chanted "scrap the tax" in front of fire trucks and held signs with slogans such as "no farms, no food, no future" and "burn the levy, not our wallets".
A speaker said Premier Jacinta Allan and Treasurer Jaclyn Symes were invited but did not show up, while another said his annual levy bill was going to rise up to 189 per cent as a farmer.
"We've got to ... make Jacinta and Jaclyn uncomfortable," he said.
"The next election is one-and-a-half years away. They are on the skids. This is wrong."
South Australia has offered drought-affected farmers receiving federal assistance a rebate for its 2025/26 emergency services levy.
In Victoria, only CFA volunteers have been told they can access a rebate.
Ms Symes, who will hand down her first budget on May 20, hinted relief was in the offing for drought-hit farmers when asked if she would follow SA's lead.
"I live in regional Victoria. I'm talking to these farmers every day," she said in the upper house.
"When it comes to support for farmers, there will be more to say in coming days."
Ms Allan said the levy was being expanded for the exact same reason farmers were struggling: climate change.
"As a government, we're acknowledging that change," she told reporters.
"We're acknowledging that increased pressure on farmers, pressure on country communities and pressure on our emergency services to respond to this changed environment."
Opposition Leader Brad Battin suggested supermarket food prices would increase if farmers were forced to pass on the additional costs.
"This is going to impact each and every farmer across our state," he said.
"Therefore it is going to impact the entire state."
Legislation for the expanded levy stalled in the upper house in early April, with the Allan government unable to wrangle enough crossbench support.
Debate on the bill has been pushed back to Thursday, but Ms Symes remained confident it would pass either this sitting week or next.
Hundreds of volunteer firefighters and farmers have banded together in a last-ditch effort to stop the controversial expansion of an emergency services levy.
The Victorian Labor government wants to replace the state's fire services property levy with a emergency services and volunteers fund from July 1.
Under the tax change, households across the state are expected to pay an extra $63 a year on average and farmers an extra $678 a year.
The levy is forecast to raise an extra $765 million a year by 2027/28 to fund more agencies including the State Emergency Service, Triple Zero Victoria and Emergency Recovery Victoria.
With the legislation scheduled for debate this week, Country Fire Authority volunteers and farmers were among several hundred people to rally outside Victoria's parliament on Tuesday.
They chanted "scrap the tax" in front of fire trucks and held signs with slogans such as "no farms, no food, no future" and "burn the levy, not our wallets".
A speaker said Premier Jacinta Allan and Treasurer Jaclyn Symes were invited but did not show up, while another said his annual levy bill was going to rise up to 189 per cent as a farmer.
"We've got to ... make Jacinta and Jaclyn uncomfortable," he said.
"The next election is one-and-a-half years away. They are on the skids. This is wrong."
South Australia has offered drought-affected farmers receiving federal assistance a rebate for its 2025/26 emergency services levy.
In Victoria, only CFA volunteers have been told they can access a rebate.
Ms Symes, who will hand down her first budget on May 20, hinted relief was in the offing for drought-hit farmers when asked if she would follow SA's lead.
"I live in regional Victoria. I'm talking to these farmers every day," she said in the upper house.
"When it comes to support for farmers, there will be more to say in coming days."
Ms Allan said the levy was being expanded for the exact same reason farmers were struggling: climate change.
"As a government, we're acknowledging that change," she told reporters.
"We're acknowledging that increased pressure on farmers, pressure on country communities and pressure on our emergency services to respond to this changed environment."
Opposition Leader Brad Battin suggested supermarket food prices would increase if farmers were forced to pass on the additional costs.
"This is going to impact each and every farmer across our state," he said.
"Therefore it is going to impact the entire state."
Legislation for the expanded levy stalled in the upper house in early April, with the Allan government unable to wrangle enough crossbench support.
Debate on the bill has been pushed back to Thursday, but Ms Symes remained confident it would pass either this sitting week or next.
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