The Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) has accused the State Government of breaking a public pledge to release a full financial breakdown detailing how it intends to spend $1.6 billion collected through the Emergency Services and Volunteer Fund (ESVF).
VFF president Ryan Milgate said Victorian farmers, businesses and rural households had every right to know exactly where their money was going, particularly after explicit assurances were made by the government.
“Last year the Treasurer publicly committed to providing annual reporting on both levy collections and agency allocations. Now when that time has arrived, it’s nowhere to be seen,” Mr Milgate said.
“How can we have any confidence that this so-called beneficial tax is actually going to our emergency services and not being used to line the coffers of the government?
“These types of hollow commitments strike at the heart of why many Victorians and particularly farmers are so against this tax-grab.
It’s all smoke and mirrors and that falls at the feet of the Treasurer.”
Mr Milgate warned that widespread community opposition would likely intensify across regional areas as pressure builds to scrap massive proposed hikes to the ESVF.
The VFF has maintained a longstanding position that the controversial fund should be scrapped entirely ahead of the upcoming election and
replaced with a fairer, more accountable funding model, arguing that regional primary producers shoulder an unfair proportion of the financial burden.
“Victorian farmers will pay significantly more under the ESVF and deserve to know exactly how much is being collected, where those funds are being directed, and whether every emergency service agency is receiving the support it needs,” Mr Milgate said.
“Transparency matters because this isn’t government money, it’s taxpayers’ money. When the government collects $1.6 billion through a dedicated levy, every Victorian has the right to see exactly where every dollar is going.”
The VFF is calling on the Treasurer to immediately publish the full 2026-27 ESVF revenue and allocation figures, demanding a return to the transparency standards originally promised when the levy framework was introduced.
