People power will be called on to voice protest against the State Government's new Emergency Services and Volunteer Fund tomorrow afternoon at a rally in Warragul.
Farmers, CFA volunteers and community members are being called on to gather in numbers - tractors, CFA trucks and all - outside the West Gippsland Arts Centre when Baw Baw Shire Council considers a notice of motion tabled by Cr Ben Lucas calling on the state government to repeal its decision.
The motion calls on council to "formally oppose" the ESVF.
"Just because it's law doesn't make it lawful," Cr Lucas said. "This emergency services volunteer fund levy will cripple the rural areas in our shire and place even more pressure on households feeling the pinch from the current cost of living crisis."
Cr Lucas called on community members to "turn up in solidarity with council and show their distain for this new tax."
The matter will be considered at council's meeting at 1pm tomorrow.
The motion has been supported by Lardner Park, who used its Farm World Facebook page to call on farmers, CFA volunteers and community members to support the rally.
"The power of the people must be heard," the Farm World post said.
It will not be the first time local people rallied to voice their opposition, with hundreds gathering outside Member for Eastern Victoria Harriet Shing's Morwell office last Tuesday. The rally was held simultaneously as thousands of disgruntled farmers, CFA volunteers and community members swarmed on the steps of Parliament House in Melbourne in a show of protest.
At both rallies, CFA trucks lined the streets as protestors yelled "scrap the tax."
The controversial new ESFV passed by the State Government two weeks ago will be collected via shire rates notices. While impacting every Victorian household and businesses, it will hit farmers the hardest.
The government said the fund would provide "hardworking emergency services the funding and equipment they need - so that communities can respond and recover from floods, fires and storms."
Through the ESVF, the Labor Government will invest $110 million to deliver a rolling fleet replacement program for VICSES, the CFA and Fire Rescue Victoria.
Neerim South dairy farmer and former Tarago Cheese owner David Johnson was at Morwell because the levy was "the straw that broke the camel's back."
Not usually a protestor, he said the levy would cost farmers a lot of money and "the dairy industry is in crisis in Gippsland at the moment...it is completely unfair."
Mr Johnson said farmers were struggling to feed cattle and the levy would be the nail in the coffin for many.
He said it was typical of a green drought and while the paddocks looked green, the grass was short.
Mr Johnson said in these conditions, typically 30 per cent of famers have planned for it, 30 per cent will battle through and 30 per cent will exit in the industry or will be in a lot of strife.
"In my 30 years back in Neerim South this is the worst autumn we have had. There are people trying to feed cattle in situations that are pretty dire," he said.
He said many property owners simply would not be able to afford to pay the levy.
"People will get it on their rates bill and just not pay it. I can't believe we have a government that will target a group of people that are already struggling," he said.
Before passing legislation, the Labor Government agreed to some compromises including:
Reduce the variable rate for primary production land from 83 cents per $1000 Capital Improved Value (CIV) to 71.8 cents/$1000 CIV – reducing the liability payable by farmers;
Guarantee that 95 per cent of VICSES and CFA funding will come from ESVF and 90 per cent of FRV's annual funding will come from the levy;
Legislate to make it clear that every dollar collected from the levy must be spent on emergency services;
Boost transparency by reporting annually how much money has been collected by the ESVF and how that money will be spent;
Commit to working on an implementation package for local councils, including funding for the Municipal Association of Victoria; and,
Provide partial rebates of the ESVF for farmers eligible for the infrastructure grants program in the government's drought support package