Victorian farmers spared emergency services levy hike

Victorian Labor will permanently freeze the contentious Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund (ESVF) levy charged on farmland if it wins re-election this month.

The new tax to fund fire and emergency services prompted a backlash from farmers and Country Fire Authority volunteers who labelled it unfair and unaffordable, with some facing rate increases of tens of thousands of dollars.

Just before the ESVF came into effect in July last year, the government announced a temporary backdown, capping the rate charged on farmland at 28.7 per cent.

It later extended the freeze for two years.

The Coalition and One Nation have already promised to scrap the ESVF.

Agriculture Minister Michaela Settle told the Victorian Country Hour on Thursday the freeze would stay.

"Under a Labor government there will be no increase to the variable rate on agricultural land,"

she said.

"It’s 28.7 per cent and staying there."

Ms Settle said the cap maintained the rate charged under the old Fire Services levy.

"When the Coalition talk about axing the tax, they're talking about axing the CFA rebate, they're talking about axing funding for the SES," she said.

'Pleasantly surprised'

Victorian Farmers Federation president Ryan Milgate welcomed Labor's promised rate freeze.

"This is the first time we've heard any sort of announcement or guarantee about this. I was pleasantly surprised" he said. 

"It's a major change of what we've been hearing in the past and a significant relief to all Victorian farmers."

"Farmers could be saving tens of thousands of dollars."

Mr Milgate said the ESVF was calculated on the capital increased value of farmland.

"There's still devil in the detail in making sure that we're not paying for things that we shouldn't be."

"We also want to ensure that our emergency services, primarily the CFA, is adequately funded and we have the resourcing that we need."

Although Mr Milgate welcomed Labor's commitment, he said it was unlikely to sway many regional Victorian votes in the coming state election.

"The ESVF is a big issue but there are a whole raft of other issues, so I think for a lot of people this won't make much difference,"

he said.

"In May last year we had four or 5,000 people in front of Parliament House exercising their displeasure that the Labor government was going to raise this emergency services levy."

"But the reality is this is a big policy shift from what we've seen and I'm kind of surprised Labor haven't been leveraging a bit more off this, to be honest."

If elected, the Coalition plans to dump the ESVF in its first 100 days of government, restoring the former Fire Services Property Levy model.

Opposition Agriculture Spokesperson Emma Kealy said Labor’s "unfair tax" needed to go.

"This is nothing more than a tax grab to boost the bottom line,"

she said.

Mr Kealy criticised Labor's decision to consider the rate hike on farmers in the first place.

"It was so cruel for that to be rolled out on farmers on the eve of the horrible drought that many areas were experiencing," she said.