Mildura Rural City Council is part of an unprecedented alliance of protest against the Emergency Services Volunteer Fund (ESVF).
As a member council of Regional Cities Victoria, Council has joined forces with Rural Councils Victoria and the Municipal Association of Victoria to lead 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of councils has formally written to Premier Jacinta Allan and Treasurer Jaclyn Symes, calling for the ESVF to be withdrawn and redesigned to ensure equity, transparency, and proper consultation with local government.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, the impact of 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.
Mildura Mayor Helen Healy slammed the levy, labelling it an unfair impost on ratepayers in the Mildura region.
"This is government cost-shifting taken to a new level which will pull millions of dollars out of our local community at a time when we know many residents are already doing it tough amid the cost-of-living crisis," Cr Healy said.
"Along with our fellow Regional Cities Victoria members, we've been very clear and vocal in our opposition to this levy right from the outset. Those calls so far appear to have fallen on deaf ears with the Victorian Government continuing to push ahead with it.
"We're not giving up on this one and will continue working side-by-side with our fellow 78 Victorian Councils in a united stand against this unfair financial hit on our communities."
It's been two years since the Victorian Government scrapped the Regional Jobs and Infrastructure Fund, which provided up to $125m 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 our communities a year through the ESVF.
Current FSL (2024/25) |
Proposed ESVF (2025-26) |
$ Increase |
% Increase |
|
Ballarat |
$14,894,229.00 |
$21,126,567.00 |
$6,232,338.00 |
41.84 |
Bendigo |
$15,805,791.00 |
$23,224,657.20 |
$7,418,866.20 |
46.94 |
Horsham |
$3,871,382.01 |
$7,128,133.87 |
$3,256,751.86 |
84.12 |
Geelong |
$36,830,189.05 |
$55,864,820.12 |
$19,034,631.07 |
51.68 |
Latrobe |
$12,356,398.37 |
$18,395,505.43 |
$6,039,107.06 |
48.87 |
Mildura |
$8,382,185.00 |
$12,939,415.00 |
$4,557,230.00 |
54.37 |
Shepparton |
$9,160,233.20 |
$14,218,481.55 |
$5,058,248.35 |
55.22 |
Wangaratta |
$4,922,445.45 |
$8,209,963.30 |
$3,287,517.85 |
66.79 |
Warrnambool |
$4,728,236.88 |
$6,836,557.02 |
$2,108,320.14 |
44.59 |
Wodonga |
$5,616,025.45 |
$8,054,850.35 |
$2,438,824.90 |
43.43 |
TOTAL |
$116,567,115.41 |
$175,998,950.84 |
$59,431,835.43 |
50.99 |