Main street mess
Dear Editor
Isn’t it amazing that the Mitchel Shire ratepayers have paid out over four million dollars to beautify the main street of Kilmore and it still looks like a “dogs dinner”.
There are empty pot plant holders everywhere, and the general appearance is not at all inviting to tourists who come to our town.
Gary Saunders
Kilmore
Voting difficulties
Dear Editor,
Another election has come and gone. Big winners and big losers. One of the “biggest losers “ I thought was Kilmore.
After being notified by the AEC (Australian Electoral Commission) that the boundaries had changed for the federal election, we were no longer in the McEwen electorate anymore but in the Nicholls electorate, I found myself a little lost. I’m sure other residents felt the same way.
We had no correspondence at all from any of the candidates (not even a small pamphlet) and disappointed that there was nothing much in the local paper to help and guide us. All we could do was “google” any information we needed to know about candidates.
Also, we needed to vote early due to work commitments.
There were no early voting places in Kilmore, but after enquiring we were told we could go to Seymour or Shepparton to vote, if you wanted to commute. We were told if we didn’t want to travel we could go to Wandong.
There we were greeted with : Hi , Are you locals? Which we replied we’re from Kilmore. The lady replied sorry, but I’ll have to send you to the naughty corner as we were no longer McEwen voters.
We then had to fill out a form and do a postal vote. Seriously there MUST be a simpler way of doing things. In all honesty, I have never felt so left out in all the 33 years we’ve lived in Kilmore.
Hopefully this situation will be rectified by the next election.
Tracy (surname withheld)
Kilmore
Fire levy overreaches its purpose
Dear Editor,
I write to express my strong opposition to the newly passed Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund (ESVF), which significantly expands the scope of the fire services levy in Victoria. While we all support properly funding our frontline firefighters and volunteers, the inclusion of agencies like Triple Zero Victoria, the State Control Centre, and Forest Fire Management Victoria in this levy represents a serious overreach.
These agencies, while important, are fundamentally state responsibilities that should be funded through general revenue—not tacked onto council rates in a way that unfairly burdens property owners, particularly in rural and regional areas. Farmers, families, and small businesses are already doing it tough. Now they’re expected to foot the bill for bureaucratic and administrative agencies far removed from direct firefighting on the ground.
The fire services levy was originally created to support frontline fire services like CFA. That principle is now being abandoned in favour of cost-shifting by the state government. Funding core emergency infrastructure and management systems should never come at the expense of those who already contribute more than their fair share.
If the government believes these agencies are vital—and they may well be—then let them be funded transparently, equitably, and through appropriate state budget allocations. Do not disguise new taxes as “levies” and burden local ratepayers under the guise of fire protection.
Rick Williamson
Broadford
Unhappiness with fire levy
Dear Editor,
In the early hours of Friday 16th May, Labor and members of the Animal Justice Party, The Greens and Legalise Cannabis Party, colluded with the Allan Labor Government to pass Labor’s big new dog of a tax, the so-called Emergency Services and ‘Volunteers’ Fund.
Your readers deserve to know how their local Members of Parliament voted on this tax that will hit country Victorians, particularly farmers, the hardest.
Northern Victoria Region has five representatives in the upper house, three of whom voted against, and two of whom voted to impose this tax on their constituents.
The three who voted against are Liberal MP Wendy Lovell, Nationals MP Gaelle Broad and One Nation MP Rikkie-Lee Tyrrell.
The two who voted in favour of the tax are Animal Justice Party MP Georgie Purcell and Labor MP Jaclyn Symes. Ms Symes, the Treasurer and former Emergency Services Minister, is also one of the architects of this egregious tax.
If you live in the seat of Bendigo East, Bendigo West, Macedon or Yan Yean, you should also know that your lower house Labor member – Jacinta Allan, Maree Edwards, Mary-Anne Thomas or Lauren Kathage – voted in favour of the tax.
Don’t be fooled into thinking this tax will help volunteers – the majority of firefighting volunteers oppose this tax.
To impose this big new tax on farmers at a time when large parts of rural Victoria are experiencing horrendous drought conditions is the action of a heartless and cruel government. But all that Labor cares about is filling their budget black holes.
When Victorians vote next year, I hope they will remember that Labor, the Greens, the Animal Justice Party, and the Legalise Cannabis Party sold them out to impose Labor’s 60th new or increased tax.
Wendy Lovell
Liberal Member for Northern Victoria Region
