VFF furious about hike in fire levy

Thursday, 13/08/2009

The Victorian Farmers Federation has condemned the 18 per cent increase of the state's regional fire services levy.

The levy on property insurance funds the Country Fire Authority.

The levy was only just increased by 5 per cent to 68 cents in the dollar of property insurance on June 1, and now it has been increased to 84 cents.

VFF president, Andrew Broad, says while spending on bushfire services has increased since the Black Saturday fires, this method of raising funds is deeply flawed.

"We're now taxing insurance at 84 per cent; we've got to remember it was only three years ago that it was 44 per cent, so it's just a massive increase," he says.

"There's got to be a better way of funding this.

"This is a huge disincentive for people to insure and will actually be counter-productive in getting money into the resources, to fund fire services."

Mr Broad says a rates-based levy would be a fairer system to fund regional fire services.


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