Member for Mildura, Jade Benham, has grilled the Treasurer during the Parliamentary Accounts and Estimates Committee (PAEC) Inquiry into the 2025-26 Budget Estimates, demanding answers over the 150 percent tax hike on farmers under the new Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund.
Despite repeated questioning, Ms Benham said the Treasurer failed to provide any clear justification for the sharp tax increase and showed no empathy for the plight of farmers.
She also raised concerns about government documents revealing significant funding cuts to emergency services. Despite claiming the tax is needed to support these services, the government’s own figures show the 2025 26 budgets for Fire Rescue Victoria, the Country Fire Authority and the State Emergency Service have been reduced by a combined $165 million compared to the previous year.
Additional cuts have also been confirmed for agencies such as Triple Zero, Forest Fire Management and Emergency Recovery Victoria.
Ms Benham also dismissed the government’s decision to delay the tax for farmers by twelve months as a “face-saving measure amid unescapable community backlash.”
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