A decade-long wait for “urgent” CFA upgrades

The Nationals’ Member for Ovens Valley, Tim McCurdy, has slammed the Allan Labor Government’s latest emergency services announcement as a political stunt, saying communities across Ovens Valley are being left behind.

Mr McCurdy said the broader $365 million investment into CFA and forest firefighting services has been packaged as support for volunteers, but in reality fails to address the chronic shortfalls faced by regional brigades.

“Families, farmers and small businesses across Ovens Valley are being hit with Labor’s $5 billion Emergency Services Tax, yet once again there is no clear, guaranteed investment flowing back to our communities,” he said.

“Labor has announced $100 million to replace ageing CFA tankers and pumpers, but what they haven’t been upfront about is that this funding is stretched over a decade. That’s not a serious commitment, it’s a slow drip-feed that won’t meet the urgent needs on the ground.”

Mr McCurdy said the scale of the challenge far outweighs the announcement, with hundreds of ageing vehicles still in service.

“There are at least 630 old single cab tankers still in the fleet, and more than 10 per cent of tankers are over 30 years old. This announcement doesn’t even come close to addressing that backlog,” he said.

“It’s also only a fraction of the billions being collected through Labor’s emergency services tax. Communities are right to ask, where is the rest of the money going?”

Mr McCurdy said regional firefighters would not be convinced by “spin and headlines” while local brigades continue to operate with ageing equipment and stretched resources.

“Announcements on paper don’t fix broken down trucks, under-resourced brigades, or the reality our volunteers face on the ground,” he said.

“This tax is nothing more than a revenue grab to prop up Victoria’s debt, while regional communities are left to foot the bill.”

“The Nationals' will scrap this tax and redirect funding into modern equipment, properly resourced stations and real support for volunteers. Our firefighters in Ovens Valley deserve outcomes, not announcements.”