Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund
Bridget VALLENCE (Evelyn) (10:16): The new emergency services tax introduced by this Allan Labor government will see Victorian households paying an extra $3 billion in tax. It will hurt every single Victorian in a cost-of-living crisis. Households will pay double under this new tax. It will increase the cost of rent for renters. Businesses like cafes, hairdressers and gyms – all businesses – will pay double under this new tax. It will increase the cost for manufacturers, which will drive up the cost of locally made products. Our farmers will be hardest hit, with a 150 per cent increase in the tax – a massive tax increase on our farmers at the worst possible time, when they are dealing with drought. And all it will do is force up the price of fresh produce – meat, veggies and fruit – at the shops for all Victorians. Labor calls it a volunteers fund, but that is misleading. The government has confirmed the tax revenue raised is no longer quarantined for our CFA and SES volunteers, which is wrong and unfair, and will pay for back office jobs. Many of our farmers are our first responders to fires and storms. The Victorian Liberals will scrap this tax if elected next year. I have repeatedly called for more funding for our SES and CFA and will continue to do so.