I WENT with a friend to the Emergency Services Levy tax protest, and it was incredibly moving to be there. High integrity CFA members and farmers, some getting up at 1am or 3am, so inspiring and so needed.

We all need to be educated about this tax, I needed to be educated about what it means, and I hope to spend some time outside our Wonthaggi MP’s office at some stage over next few days with a sign and info.

This huge tax not only shockingly affects the selfless people who protect us, and the farmers who grow our food (who may be ruined by this off the charts tax), but also the knock-on effect of this tax. It will increase our own rates by huge amounts. One lady of a small farm said she pays nearly $2000 Emergency Services Levy each year, but this may go up to between $4600 to $5000 per year and that is a mild estimate. 

There will be farmers having to leave the land and of course their firefighting. This tax is huge and totally uncompassionate and unrealistic, slugging the people of high integrity and community mindedness in our Victorian state. The instigators of this tax show they are out of touch with the people of the land who grow our food.

The speakers were very informative and wonderful. Victorians need to show this tax must be repealed or great tragedy will happen.
50,000 CFA members in Victoria, 1200 units all over Vic. At least 200 hours a year given freely by these selfless men and women, over Christmas and holidays putting their own personal lives aside. 

One man told a heartbreaking story, about a mother in the middle of a huge fire alone with three children. When everything got worse, she wrapped the three little children in wet towels and carried them in her arms out of the house trying to find a way out of the fire, she eventually got trapped in the fire and lay the children down and covered them all with her own body. Not too long after the fire truck arrived and got them in the truck and to hospital. The children had third degree burns, not sure what happened to the poor mother. 

The speaker said, “I was one of those children”. 

So heartbreaking, he looked like a very thin, hardworking farmer. He said when he fights the fires, he has to push through huge resistance to doing this, but always pushes through as he thinks of this firetruck coming to rescue them all in his childhood.

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