Victorian Councils have joined forces in an unprecedented alliance of protest against the Emergency Services Volunteer Fund (ESVF).
Regional Cities Victoria has joined forces with Rural Councils Victoria and the Municipal Association of Victoria to be part of one of the most powerful demonstrations of local government unity in recent years — with all 79 Victorian councils standing together against the ESVF.
This unprecedented joint protest brings a clear and united message to the Victorian Government: regional and rural ratepayers cannot afford another state-imposed tax.
This levy hits hardest where it hurts most – drought-stricken farmers, families already stretched by rising costs, and the local economies that help regional Victoria and the entire state to prosper.
The collective of councils has formally written to Premier Jacinta Allan and Treasurer Jaclyn Symes, calling for the ESVF to be withdrawn and redesigned to ensure equity, transparency, and proper consultation with local government.
While every local government strongly supports the state’s emergency services volunteers, councils are concerned that the ESVF:
- Shifts state costs to councils and ratepayers, undermining local budgets
- Disproportionately impacts rural and regional communities
- Adds further pressure to families and businesses already managing drought, water insecurity, and rising living costs
City of Ballarat Mayor, Tracey Hargreaves, said that Ballarat City Council will continue to be resolute in its stance against the introduction of the ESVF.
“It is a grossly unfair tax on regional Victorians and its councils who are doing the government’s work collecting it,” Mayor Hargreaves said.
“For this reason, my fellow Ballarat Councillors and I will continue to be frank and vocal in articulating our community’s concerns.
“We hope that with the weight of all 79 Victorian Councils actively opposing it, we can finally get the Victorian Government to rethink their approach.”
It’s been two years since the Victorian Government scrapped the Regional Jobs and Infrastructure Fund, which provided up to $125 million annually to underwrite projects that accommodate growth and create jobs in regional and rural Victoria. The state’s estimated to strip up to $60 million more from communities a year through the ESVF.
“These figures demonstrate the importance of advocating against this new tax – in Ballarat, we are providing over $6 million more each year through the new ESVF, at a time when our community can least afford it.”
