Community
29 May, 2025
Brigades are on the brink, captain says
A COUNTRY Fire Authority (CFA) captain has raised concerns his brigade could fold due to a lack of members if the Victorian Government pushes ahead with the Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund.
Wooriwyrite CFA captain Andrew Eldridge said his brigade, located between Kolora and Darlington, had around 30 members, but he feared a significant number would stand down if the levy comes to fruition from July.
“This is going to hit us all hard, and we’re probably going to lose members which may mean we lose the brigade,” he said.
“We haven’t had any leave yet but if it goes through I think we would probably lose half our members – myself included.”
Mr Eldridge said his brigade would be hit particularly hard as the majority were business owners or farmers, who face significant costs associated with the levy.
“Anything from households to business owners and farmers – for some it’s going to be a couple of thousand, for others it’ll be over $100,000,” he said.
“In today’s climate they’re already spending every last penny they have to feed their stock.
“The cost of living is already outrageous, and this is only going to make it worse.”
Thousands gathered at protests against the levy last week including in Camperdown, Warrnambool and Melbourne.
Mr Eldridge said it was a positive to see the level of community support farmers and emergency service volunteers had received, but also lamented knowing how significantly everyone would be impacted.
“It’s been good because this does hurt everyone,” he said.
“Whether you own a building or a house, even if you don’t, this is only going to make the cost of living go through the roof because the cost of production goes up.
“All of a sudden produce has to go up, so it will have an impact on everybody – and I mean everybody.”
Mr Eldridge said he and his members shared the same sentiment – scrap the tax.
“It would be fine going back to the previous levy,” he said.
“We don’t understand why we have to pay for the government’s incompetence.
“They’ve overspent – if I overspend on my farm, I have to suffer the consequences – so I can’t understand why they want to collect more to account for it.”
Read More: local