Western Victoria Region
Bev McARTHUR (Western Victoria) (12:49): (1606) My question is to the Minister for Emergency Services. The government promised to spend $50 million annually from the new $1.6 billion Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund tax to support CFA and SES volunteers with new trucks, training and equipment. Yet last week the 2025–26 budget failed to allocate any clear funding for replacing the CFA’s ageing tankers, leaving volunteers in the dark and orders delayed. In Western Victoria, Gazette CFA still operates three fire trucks over 30 years old, part of a statewide fleet where 230 are over 30 years old and another 743 are more than 20 years old. How can the minister justify slapping farmers and Victorians with this massive new tax while delivering empty promises, cutting frontline capability and keeping vital funds for government projects rather than the volunteers who actually fight fires? Where is every taxpayer dollar of the emergency services tax really going?