Thursday, 14 August 2025

Southern Metropolitan Region

David DAVIS (Southern Metropolitan) (12:50): (1752) My constituency question is for the attention of the Treasurer, and it concerns her big, fat new tax, the essential services levy that is being levied now. People are feeling the pain as it comes through on their council rates notices. In my region there are nine councils: Melbourne, Port Phillip, Stonnington, Glen Eira, Kingston, Bayside, Boroondara, Whitehorse and Monash. I am asking the minister to release the details of the collections of the emergency services levy in each of those municipalities and indeed to look at the previous figures for the fire services levy so that we can see the difference. The City of Melbourne we know have released the figure – $55 million more is being collected. The minister promised to release this figure at the time of the committee stage when the bill was going through, but that has not been provided. I would ask that the Treasurer now provide those figures publicly to me and to the house, because people are paying through the nose. They are being hit and hurt, and they are entitled to know by how much.