Bushfire fleet shortfall targeted in $200 million Coalition pitch to the regions
The opposition’s $200 million pledge to boost the state’s firefighting fleet comes as Labor’s relationship with the CFA took a major hit after the government doubled an emergency services tax.
Many CFA volunteers, in particular farmers, were furious at the doubling of the levy and launched a campaign to “scrap the tax”. The Coalition has promised to revert the tax to the lower-cost Fire Services Property Levy model.
Labor had also made a number of funding cuts to the CFA before increasing its budget in 2024-25.
The government is in talks with the United Firefighters Union (UFU) over a new pay deal. The union, which once championed Labor, is running ads urging Victorians to vote the government out.
Last week, a bullet inscribed with the word “rat” was left on the windscreen of Emergency Services Minister Paul Edbrooke’s car. Also etched into the bullet was the five-digit ID number from Edbrooke’s 14 years as a professional firefighter. The minister has linked the threat to elements of the UFU.
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