By BLAKE METCALF-HOLT and AIDAN KNIGHT
NO more.
Enough is enough.
Scrap the tax.
THESE were just a few of the sentiments that flowed through the local protest against the recently instated Emergency Services Levy Bill last Tuesday (May 20), which began outside the Morwell office of state government frontbencher Harriet Shing.
Close to 150 people of a mix of farmers, volunteer firefighters, and supporting and effected citizens assembled to renounce the new changes, with police blocking the section of road just before 10am for the peaceful yet explicit demonstration.
After discussions between organisers and local police, plans shifted and many protesters marched up Commercial Road to the Latrobe Valley Magistrates’ Court, which was still in the thick of the Erin Patterson Trial, making their voice loud and clear.
The doubled rates were confirmed days out from the Victorian State Budget, expanding the previous Fire Services Property Levy (FSPL) into a broader fund which extends to services such as the SES and Emergency Recovery Victoria under the Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund Levy (ESVF).
To secure crossbench support, the state government agreed to amend the bill, dropping the levy for farmers from an initially proposed variable rate of 83 cents per $1000 of the value of the land to 71.8c per $1000.
Beforehand, under the FSPL, it was 28.7c per $1000.
The ESVFL is to officially replace the FSPL and begin on July 1.
Boisdale farmer Tom Howson made the trip down to the Latrobe Valley to show his support and distain for the recent changes, and how it’s deeply effecting his cattle farm.
“People from the country are fed up with the state government spending more money in the city when we’re not going to benefit, and (then) they come into the country and try and pillage us to get the money to try and pay for their mistakes,” he said.
“I’m semi-retired, still farming, still got a few cattle or so, but it just increases.
“Tax, everything has gone up, cattle’s gone up a bit, but in 1970 we were still getting $500 for a cow, now you might get $1500, but the cost-wise from ’70 to now is ridiculous.”
Lieutenant of Heyfield Fire Brigade, Phil Graham addressed the Morwell crowd from atop one of the many tankers positioned along Commercial Rd, giving voice to the many fed up and disheartened.
“Why do we have to fund it? Why are we the ones scratching through the change in the console of our farm utes trying to find a dollar to give to them? It’s just not fair,” he said.
“We need to send the message, it needs to go loud and clear.
“So, Jacinta Allan if you can hear me, if you’d listen – you’re hurting us.
“You’re really hurting us. We don’t have any more for you anymore Jacinta, so stop trying to take it off us.”
With everyone present standing together against the instatement, Lt. Graham also made an impassioned message about how his fellow CFA members and local police figures must put their arms around the rest of the community.
“We’ve all got our stories. It’s all going to hurt us in many, many different ways. Just stay strong, stay respectful,” he said.
“I see all of the CFA people here along with me, remember our communities.
“We are leaders in our communities – be leaders – I implore you all, everyone that wears yellow or a blue uniform, you are a leader in your community.
“You need to have the ability for other members of the community to lean on your shoulder, you need to lead through strength.
“It’s now more than ever, there’s no fires burning in the bush, but it’s now more than ever that we need to support our communities. Not just with a hose and with a branch and a big red truck, but we need to be there side-by-side with the other members of our community to support them, because they’re going to struggle and suffer too.”
In the wake of the ESVFL announcement, many fire stations across the state have gone offline, flown CFA flags upside down, and some even going as far as to post videos online setting fire to their uniforms in protest.
Fellow Heyfield volunteer firefighter, Meryl Graham also articulated the overall affect the levy will have.
With the ESVFL, residential charges have also increased from 8.7c per $1000 of a residential property’s capital improved value to 17.3c per $1000.
“What I disagree with is the bleeding the life out of Victoria, because it’s not just farmers,” Ms Graham said.
“Everyone’s paying it. It’s going to drive the cost of living up, that’s going to put pressure on interest rates to go up because inflation will go up.
“It’s every single Victorian that’s going to bleed over this and it’s not right.”
While Ms Graham doesn’t believe their stand will see the state government shift its position, she said everyone who is tired of this “bleeding” needs to make a stand.
“You have to try, we can’t be apathetic forever, we can’t sit on the lounge and complain about it forever,” she continued.
“Sooner or later, you’ve got to pick your hill and stand on it.
“Sometimes you’ve got to pick a fight and say ‘this is my fight, I can’t let everybody else do it.’ I just want to say no more.”
Latrobe City Moe Ward Councillor, Adele Pugsley also addressed the crowd, making a strong declaration about council’s stance.
“Council have already done a motion that we don’t want to collect the tax. We will continue to advocate to do whatever we can,” she said.
“It’s not fair that we are expected to fork out more money out of our pockets.
“There are so many farmers who are already struggling to make ends meet. This would be the difference between a viable business or not.
“There are so many people already experiencing cost-of-living pressures, this would be the difference between being able to eat or not.”
Council’s position towards these changes began at the February 2025 council meeting, formally writing to Premier Jacinta Allan and the Minister for Local Government, Nick Staikos calling for the requirement of Victorian councils to collect the new fund to be removed and for it to be managed directly by the State Revenue Office.
“The recent announcement by the Victorian government to replace the (FSPL) with the (ESVFL), has sparked significant unrest across regional and rural areas including here in Latrobe City,” Latrobe City Council Mayor, Cr Dale Harriman told the Express.
“We support our local farmers and business owners and share their dismay at the change and the pressure it will place on our community.
“We strongly believe it is not the role of local councils to act as tax collectors for state-imposed levies, particularly when the burden falls disproportionately on our communities.
“The State Revenue Office should be responsible for administering this levy, at the state’s expense.”
Thousands of demonstrators also congregated on Spring Street in Melbourne’s CBD to voice their disapproval of the levy directly and loudly to the Victorian Premier.
Former Premier and farmer, Denis Napthine, state opposition leader Brad Battin, and leader of the state Nationals and Member for Gippsland South, Danny O’Brien also showed their support among the crowd in the city’s standstill on Tuesday, May 20 (the same day the state budget was handed down).
Mr Battin, when addressing the crowd, promised to scrap the ESVFL if his party won next year’s state election.
Premier Allan told Parliament last week that the ESVFL was integral in providing sufficient resources to emergency services.
“You cannot ignore that more and more is being asked of our emergency services, our state emergency services,” she said.
“You cannot commit to ripping away… hundreds of millions of dollars from our emergency services without finding it from somewhere else.”
The state government has guaranteed that through legislation that 95 per cent of VICSES and CFA funding would come from the new ESVF and 90 per cent of Fire Rescue Victoria’s (FRV) annual funding would also come through the levy.
CFA brigades in Erica and Moe South were announced as the first recipients of new Medium Tankers funded through the ESVFL.
CFA were reached for comment but did not respond before the Express’ deadline.
All-in-all, the message was simple: no farmers, no food.
