This ISN'T JUST A TAX. IT'S THE LAST STRAW
Today, I marched.
Not for headlines. Not for politics.
I marched because I know what it feels like to lose someone when they found the burden too hard and I truly feel this "levy" will make the burden too hard for some.
In 2016, I lost my dad to suicide.
He was my hero. A proud dairy farmer. A man who often pulled 18-hour days. He was big in frame, big in heart—passionate, logical, brave, entrepreneurial, and kind. He loved a good story, was hugely empathetic, and always generous. But when it came to government overreach? He saw red.
There are many stories when my dad saw injustices and he had no choice but to act. Some he won, others he lost. But he had no regrets.
Back then, I didn’t fully understand the weight he was carrying. I probably didn’t show much support. We’d roll our eyes at his passionate phone calls and conversations or the way he’d sometimes give it to the people in ivory towers.
Now that I’m in my 40s, I get it...............I really get it.
All those years of fighting to keep the farm going, dealing with red tape, battling isolation, family pressures… it wore him down. He didn’t have a tribe or hobbies to burn off the stress.
And in the end the burden got to much for him and it took him.
If Dad were here today, he would’ve been front and center at the protest. Loud, fueled with passion and a want to correct the injustice and ease the burden unfairly put on his fellow farmers. He would’ve had the biggest sign and likely even grabbed the megaphone!
And he would’ve been proud—proud to see farmers rise up together. No more quiet suffering. No more just accepting a decision made without consulting all the stakeholders.
Sallie Jones with her cousin Melissa Hall at the protest in Morwell
This isn’t just about another levy/tax.
It’s about what that levy/tax does to people who are already stretched to their breaking point.
We’re in a drought.
Feed is scarce and very expensive if you can get it
Costs are through the roof.
Milk prices don’t stack up (although Gippsland Jersey is paying farmers more for milk!).
And now—on top of it all—a brutal land tax hike of more than 150%
The Quiet Majority Just Got Loud
Thousands of us turned up—outside Parliament, in regional towns, and all over social media.
Many farmers had never held a protest sign in their life.
These are the doers. The providers. The ones who keep this country fed without ever asking for thanks. The ones who leave the dinner table to fight fires in their CFA gear. Who pull strangers from floodwater. Who show up—always.
Now they need someone to show up for them.
PHOTO GALLERY: Faces of the Fight
Fiona & Simon Mitchell, Cowwarr along with Theo Bradley from Drouin West
They can see the writing on the wall
Max & Tameeka Vera, Denison & David Johnson, Neerim South
David has never protested in his life!
Let’s Call This Levy/Tax What It Is: A Cash Grab
The government says the Emergency Services Volunteer Fund (ESVF) is about supporting the SES.
This is disguised as supporting the Emergency Services but in reality its plugging holes in a busted state budget.
And once again, it’s farmers and regional people being handed the bill—and it’s a slap in the face.
Farmers and regional people are the SES. We are the CFA. We’re the ones volunteering, showing up, protecting others in our communities and beyond.
And now, they want to charge us to be the very volunteers we already are?
This Isn’t Just a Rate Rise
At Gippsland Jersey, this hits home.
Our farmers and our families are tired, sore, carrying the full burden of budgets that are stretched and wont add up and stock that need constant feeding, but rarely do they complain. Most farmers don't.
But I see it. I feel it.
I know how heavy it gets when there’s no light at the end of the tunnel and the burden is getting heavier..
This levy/tax isn’t just a number on a notice.
It’s a final blow.
We’re Done Being Quiet
To everyone who marched, spoke up, or took time off the farm—THANKYOU.
We know what that costs to get off the farm or off the treadmill of life.
But this isn’t the end.
It’s the beginning.
Go to scrapthetax.com.au. and Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund - Petitions - Parliament of Victoria
Add your voice. Share your story.
Be loud.
Because when you tax the people who grow your food,
you’re not just taxing a farm...
You’re taxing our future.