The Nationals have launched a “Scrap The Tax” campaign aimed at killing off Labor’s emergency services tax – a tax that is set to hurt farmers, property owners, and volunteers across the state.
Under Labor’s Emergency Services and Volunteer Fund (ESVF), households will see their rates almost double, commercial rates will increase by 100 per cent, industrial rates by 64 per cent, and farmers will face a staggering 189 per cent increase compared to what they paid under the previous levy.
Despite these major rate increases, the tax is unlikely to see local CFA brigades and SES units receive the additional funding they so badly need.
Funds raised by the tax are instead set to be shared with core government services such as Triple Zero, Forest Fire Management Victoria, and Emergency Management Victoria – services that are already receiving significant taxpayer funding.
The Nationals’ Member for Euroa, Annabelle Cleeland, said the tax was hurting regional communities at a time when they could least afford it.
“With drought and rising costs already making it harder to stay afloat, this new tax will hit farm businesses and our regional communities hard,” Ms Cleeland said.
“Farmers across my region have already expressed concerns about the tax, saying this will only compound issues they are facing, hit their pockets hard, and lead to greater concerns over mental health.”
Recent figures from the Coroners Court showed that 45 per cent of suicides across Victoria in the 12 months to January 2025 had occurred in regional areas – despite regional Victorians making up just a quarter of the state’s population.
“These distressing figures make it clear that our farmers need more support from this government – not less,” Ms Cleeland said.
Ms Cleeland said that the tax had initially failed to pass through Parliament during the last sitting week, but more work was needed to ensure it remained rejected.
“We won a reprieve in Parliament when the vote on this latest tax grab was deferred,” Ms Cleeland said.
“Despite this, we will keep up the fight and hope the community can voice their frustrations too through our Scrap the Tax campaign before the next sitting week in May.”
Residents across the state are able to share their concerns about the tax by visiting scrapthetax.com.au and sending a protest message directly to the Treasurer, Jaclyn Symes.
Ms Cleeland’s office can also be contacted at annabelle.cleeland@parliament.vic.gov.au or 03 5762 1600 to share any concerns.
