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Loddon HERALD Vol 5 No 19, THURSDAY MAY 15, 2025 ISSN 2653-1550
FUMING FIRIES BLAST PREMIER
KEYS LEFT AT LOCKED OFFICE: Boort’s Jerri and Kate Nelson with Corack Fire Brigade captain Richard Reilly protesting outside Premier Jacinta Allan’s Bendigo electorate office on Friday when volunteer firefighters threw the keys of their trucks at the locked doors and walked off in opposition to the emergency services tax. MORE REPORTS - Page 13
ALLAN’S NUMBERS By CHRIS EARL
THE STATE Government has pushed back debate on the contentious emergency services tax to today. Tuesday’s scheduled debate in the Legislative Council was abandoned as 300 volunteer firefighters rallied on the steps of Parliament House in Melbourne. Groups from the Wedderburn and Boort districts travelled by train to the protest, the third in five days, against the tax that will raise the hit on farmers by 187
Emergency services tax debate on agenda today per cent and add 24.7 per cent to Loddon Shire rate notices. Victorian Farmers’ Federation president Brett Hosking told protesters the new tax, double the old fire services levy, would hit farmers and country communities. Mr Hosking said the economic impacts would be felt by sporting and service clubs in rural towns.
Nationals’ leader Danny O’Brien labelled the emergency services tax unjust and said it was a disgrace on the Government’s part that farmers had been forced to travel to Melbourne and protest. He said the Government had deferred debate “because it doesn’t have the numbers”. Premier Jacinta Allan needs the support of crossbenchers to pass
the Bill through the Legislative Council before it is to start on July 1. One Nation’s Northern Victoria Region MP Ricki Lee Tyrrell last week told the Loddon Herald she opposed the tax while Western Victoria Region Greens’ MP Sarah Mansfield would not reveal her stance. Animal Justice Party MP Georgie Purcell on Friday told the Loddon Herald that she was aware of significant community concerns and was “trying to strike a balance”. “The crossbench is in discus-
sions (with the Government) on amendments,” said Ms Purcell who represents northern Loddon communities. Rallies in Bendigo and Melbourne have called for the controversial tax to be scrapped. Mr Hosking and rally organisers have urged rural residents to contact MPs ahead of today’s vote. “There’s already been a huge amount of noise about this, and rightly so. The proposed changes are simply unfair on farmers who are already under pressure from rising input costs, rate hikes and climate challenges” he said.
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