General News
1 May, 2025
Action group on fire, levy and dingoes
Western Victoria’s Largest Natural Disaster, followed by a significant Levy increase, were topics on the agenda at a recent community meeting in the Winiam Hall following the Little Desert Fire.
On March 19, 2025, over 120 community members attended a public meeting at the Winiam Hall resulting in the formation of the West Wimmera Action Group Inc. to address local concerns regarding the discussed issues.
As the hall filled, people stood in doorways and leaned in open windows to hear the proceedings.
In a statement provided after the meeting, the newly formed committee said,
"On January 27, 2025, Western Victoria experienced its largest natural disaster, initiated by a lightning strike in
the Little Desert National Park.
"The subsequent fire burned over 93,000 hectares of native scrublands, surrounding farmlands, buildings, and hundreds of kilometres of fencing, threatening the townships of Dimboola and Goroke, leaving behind extensive destruction and many heavy hearts.
"This incident has raised significant questions about the management of the Little Desert National Park and the handling of the fire itself," the statement said.
During the meeting, people were invited to discuss their views on the fire, fire management, and the way forward for similar incidents.
Many people highlight those who lived in the area and who had decades of valuable local knowledge and suggested they be consulted in future management of natural disasters.
The majority was in favour of speaking with authorities from Forest Management and the CFA to create a better understanding of the conditions.
Fire Services Property Levy.
"Last December, the Victorian Government announced plans to replace the current Fire Services Property Levy
included in rates with a new Emergency Services and Volunteer Fund (ESVF), effective July 1 2025. See
https://www.dtf.vic.gov.au/emergency-services-and-volunteers-fund for details.
"However, with an upcoming election, this initiative has been temporarily shelved but is expected to be presented again post-election," the statement said.
"The ESVF will fund up to 87.5 percent of Fire Rescue Victoria's (FRV) budget, and up to 95 percent of the
Country Fire Authority’s (CFA) budget.
" It is important to remember that CFA volunteers are not compensated.
"According to the CFA, previously, approximately $800 million was allocated to CFA with $20 million withheld by
the government for emergencies.
"In 2025-26, approx. $320 million is to be allocated to CFA, with $67.5 million withheld by the government.
"This means increased costs for local rural communities while CFA receives significantly less.
"In addition, the ESVF will finance up to 95 percent of the budgets of various emergency services entities,
including Victoria State Emergency Service (VICSES); Triple Zero Victoria; State Control Centre; Emergency
Recovery Victoria, Emergency Management Victoria, Emergency Alert Program, Emergency Management
Operational Communication Program; Forest Fire Management Victoria (FFMVic), and its support functions
Within the Department of Energy, Environment, and Climate Action.
"These entities have previously been funded by the government, through a more equitable system, consisting of the Fire Services levy, and state and federal funding, but now the burden is falling largely on rural landowners and businesses."
Conditions of the proposed levy will mean an additional $3 million from just the Hindmarsh Shire (Population 5660), taking the total to $5 million annually.
"Imagine the benefits this amount could bring if retained within our Shire," they said.
"The Government has mandated the Shires to collect this money for them through our rates system and employ debt collectors to recover unpaid amounts."
Hindmarsh Shire CEO Monica Revell addressed the meeting and explained the demands on councils to collect this levy.
She said the council had no part in the decision.
The committee of the newly formed Hindmarsh Action Group stated, " While your primary place of residence owned personally (not by a business or company) will see a levy increase of about 16%, (imagine this as an interest rate rise), businesses including rental properties will face an approximate 35% increase, and farmers will be most impacted with a substantial 164% increase or more. Yet, Council Shire rate rises are capped at 3%."
When this matter was explained at the meeting in March, there was a great deal of dissatisfaction among those attending.
"Regrettably, as little as 10% might be returned to assist our local Emergency Services, if we are fortunate.
Ninety percent of the total collected from this new levy/tax across Victoria will come from regional and rural
areas. We must prevent this exploitation of our rural communities to benefit urban bureaucracy," they said.
Dingo breeding in the Little Desert National Park
"A licensed breeding facility on the edge of the Little Desert National Park was discovered recently, and there was a lengthy discussion about the risk of dingos escaping into the Little Desert National Park.
It is believed that during the recent fire and subsequent evacuation process, three dingos escaped into the park, causing concern about apex predators now roaming in an environment ravaged by a catastrophic fire.
"The impact on the birds and wildlife that survived the fire is deeply troubling. There have been numerous suspected dingo sightings, some livestock losses, and questions regarding the presence of the dingos that need to be addressed."
The meeting heard from a member of the community who had been escorted to the breeding area and said they had seen several dingo puppies and adult dingos.
The breeding program is believed to be in the original enclosure built for the protection of the protected Malleefowl.
Conflicting reports of how many dingos were at the breeding centre have circulated in the media and online due to difficulty getting the correct data.
It was also explained to the meeting that breeding dingos was not against the law, but there is a detailed criteria around management of a breeding program.
The Mail-Times has sought information on the breeding program and will update that information as it becomes available.
For further information or to become a member of the West Wimmera Action Group Inc., have contributions, photos, or data that could be useful, please contact John at 0429 919 223 or Jennifer at 0428 593 351.
