Tuesday, 13 May 2025

Members statements

Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund

Danny O’BRIEN (Gippsland South) (12:55): I rise to condemn the Allan Labor government for its failure on this emergency services tax. We have seen 500 people gather on the front steps of Parliament in the last hour or so to express their anger against this tax, this new impost, which, as the member for Lowan often says, is a land tax by stealth on farmers. We are going to see a 189 per cent increase in the tax that farmers will pay and a 100 per cent increase that every household in Victoria will pay both on the fixed and the variable charge for landlords, which will no doubt be passed on to renters at a time of a rental crisis. Plus we will see a doubling of the rate for commercial and a 64 per cent increase for industrial.

This is nothing to do with emergency services. This is all about the government trying to raise revenue. It is absolutely that, because $2.1 billion raised – the SES can be supported out of general revenue, Minister, and you know it. This is about the government doing a pea and thimble trick, taking a billion dollars out of consolidated revenue and slugging it on to Victorians with this great big new tax. The government stands condemned. Farmers are facing drought. They are facing increased cost of living right across the state. This is not the time for this tax. It is a bad policy. The government should scrap this tax.