General News
16 May, 2026
$1.67m tax hit headed to Spring Street
ALMOST $1.7 million the State Government has forced Loddon Shire Council to collect through the controversial emergency services tax will be paid into bureaucratic coffers within weeks.
ALMOST $1.7 million the State Government has forced Loddon Shire Council to collect through the controversial emergency services tax will be paid into bureaucratic coffers within weeks.
Council had had to raise the level of delegated financial authority to CEO Lincoln Fitzgerald to make the payment.
And shire officers have told councillors they expected the annual payment to keep increasing.
Financal services manager Natalie Martin said ESVF Act legislated that councils must make these levy collection payments or be subject to ministerial consequences.
The Government gave council $50,000 to adjust systems and processes to collect the tax introduced last year and now gives Loddon $49,842 a year to administer the tax, increasing annually to $64,478 in 2029-2030.
Loddon Shire Mayor Dan Straub told the latest council meeting that the shire continued to be against the tax.
The Government backed away on its initial plan that would have seen farmers hit with a 150 per cent increase in the tax, however the moratorium will end next year.
Businsesses and house owners have been already hit with increases up of 100 per cent.
The tax has been opposed by fire brigades, the Victorian Farmers’ Federation and rural councils. Dozens of CFA Volunteers Group protest signs are dotted along Loddon roads.
Read More: Loddon Shire