In the early hours of Friday May 16, Labor and members of the Animal Justice Party, The Greens and Legalise Cannabis Party, colluded with the Allan Labor Government to pass their latest tax, the Emergency Services and ‘Volunteers’ Fund. Those hardest hit by the tax will be country Victorians, a large portion of those CFA volunteers.

The Nationals Member for Murray Plains, Peter Walsh, has labelled the new Emergency Services Levy as a land tax by stealth – targeting the farming community in particular – and as “socialism gone mad in Victoria”.

He said the new ‘levy’ is the Allan Labor government “conniving to push through an unprecedented and deliberate land tax on farms”.

“Agricultural land, which is what feeds and clothes this state, and this country, has rightly been exempt for this traditionally pernicious cash grab for obvious reasons.”

Walsh said this is now about every property in Victoria being hit with an increased land tax.

“With this tax the Premier and her bloated bureaucracy are ignoring the voices of everyday Victorians who are saying enough is enough,” Mr Walsh added.

“Labor has wasted tens of billions of dollars on cost blowouts on its ridiculous and corruption-riddled major projects in Melbourne, and now they want to have a land tax to make up that huge black hole,” he said.

“This is Labor showing its contempt for the common people and giving us a frightening glimpse of its socialist lunacy.”

Gannawarra Shire Council has joined municipalities across Victoria to oppose the State Government’s implementation of the Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund.

The fund, to come into effect from July, will replace the Fire Services Levy and will be used to support VICSES, Triple Zero Victoria, the State Control Centre, Forest Fire Management Victoria and Emergency Recovery Victoria, as well as the Country Fire Authority (CFA) and Fire Rescue Victoria (FRV).

As with the former Fire Services Levy, local government will be responsible for collecting payment as part of the annual municipal rates process, with the amount each landowner is required to pay to increase compared to the previous levy. The amount this will increase will depend on the property’s land classification.

“My fellow Councillors and I outrightly oppose this unjustifiable levy that all landowners in the Gannawarra Shire will face. We must stand up for our community against this blatant cash grab,” Mayor Garner Smith said.

“Many of our landowners have already been hit with massive increases in land tax, and this new tax is estimated to take millions of dollars away from our residents. This will have a flow-on effect on our local businesses and sectors, especially the agriculture sector.

“All this levy will do is fund activities and organisations that have previously been funded out of general tax revenue. The State Government must show the people of Gannawarra how the money raised from this levy will flow back to our community.”

As part of its opposition to the implementation of the fund, Gannawarra Shire Council requests that the Municipal Association of Victoria and Rural Councils Victoria investigate ways councils can avoid collecting this funding from landowners.

“The expense and administrative burden our staff will face in determining the cost of this levy, then asking landowners to pay, will be huge,” Mayor Smith said.

“The State Government has options available for collecting this levy, including the State Revenue Office, which collects land tax on behalf of the government

“It is important that our residents know that this decision has nothing to do with Council. My fellow Councillors, Council staff and I will take every opportunity to raise our objection to this levy with the State Government on behalf of our community.”

Jackie Peacock, a digital creator from near St Arnaud Victoria, attended the rally and said morale in her community was very low.

“I’m seeing a lot of people getting more desperate and maybe not being themselves,” said Jackie.

“I think they are really feeling like they’re unheard and they don’t matter.”

“Their mental health thing is something that’s probably not being fully recognised, especially out here when we don’t have good opportunities to seek professional help.”

“It’s a real worry. I just want people to know that they matter.”

This article appeared in The Koondrook and Barham Bridge Newspaper, 22 May 2025.