Mr McCurdy said the $1.54 billion Emergency Services Volunteer Fund was sold as a lifeline for CFA and VicSES volunteers, replacing the $1 billion Fire Services Property Levy, but when they looked into the budget, the figures showed less money was actually reaching the volunteers who risked their lives to protect their communities.
He has demanded full transparency and an immediate reversal of cuts.
“Labor promised a funding boost for the CFA and SES, yet they’ve been handed a real-terms cut under a tax that’s raking in more than ever,” he said.
“The CFA’s budget has been slashed by $9 million, how is that a ‘boost’?
“And VicSES gets next to nothing. It’s a disgrace.”
He said while frontline volunteers were struggling to get the trucks and gear they needed, half the tax was going to Fire Rescue Victoria, and hundreds of millions more was being funnelled into bureaucratic agencies with little to no community presence.
“Our CFA volunteers protect regional homes, farmland and lives. They shouldn’t have to beg for basics while Labor dishes out dollars to office-bound agencies,” he said.
“Victorians were promised support for volunteers, not a spin-fest. Labor must stop treating our emergency services like a slush fund and start treating our volunteers with the respect they deserve.”
The Victorian Government has been contacted for a response.
