Fight over unfair tax taken to Spring Street

COUNTRY Fire Authority (CFA) brigades from Murrindindi Shire joined other brigades in Wallan last Tuesday to drive in a convoy down to the protest against the Emergency Services Volunteer Fund (ESVF) at Parliament in Melbourne.

Brigades from across northern Victoria, including Echuca, Rutherglen, Benalla and Wangaratta, met with Murrindindi brigades in Wallan and left for Melbourne in a convoy at 7.45am on Tuesday, May 20.

The Murrindindi Shire brigades that attended the protest were Acheron, Yarck, Taggerty, Molesworth, Glenburn and Terip Terip. They were supported by other locals who made the trip down to Parliament personally, rather than with their CFA brigade.

Jonathan Tofts, first lieutenant at the Terip Terip CFA and organiser of the northern brigades for the protest, spoke about the successful day.

“It went all successfully. We left Wallan about 7.45am with brigades from right across northern Victoria. We made our way down Flemington Road into Melbourne and caused havoc,” Jonathan said.

Some Melbourne people were caught unawares by the procession of CFA trucks heading into the city, with no clue what was happening.

“We did have one person ask ‘what’s happened, what’s going on, why are you doing it?’ and we pretty much continued driving. Melbourne people had no idea what was happening,” Jonathan said.

“And that actually even happened at Parliament, this elderly person said ‘what’s happening, what’s the matter?’. They’ve got no idea what’s happening down in Melbourne.”

The northern brigades met up with another convoy of CFA trucks on the way into…