Questions without notice and ministers statements
Danny O’BRIEN (Gippsland South) (14:38): My question is to the Minister for Emergency services. Have the CFA and SES been advised of their base funding for this financial year?
Vicki WARD (Eltham – Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Natural Disaster Recovery, Minister for Equality) (14:38): We have made it really clear in this place, when it comes to the emergency services budgets, when it comes to the organisations within our emergency services, that there have been no cuts. This is exactly the premise of the question that the member is asking, which is the erroneous claim, the mischievous claim, that there are cuts to these budgets when there are not.
Danny O’Brien: On a point of order on the question of debating, Deputy Speaker, I did not make any claims. I asked a question. Have they been given their budgets?
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: The minister has had 24 seconds and was starting on funding, and I ask her to come back to the question. Vicki WARD: I have completed my answer.
Danny O’Brien: We are now one month into the 2025–26 financial year. Every government department has been given a funding envelope, except our volunteer emergency services. Will the minister confirm that the reason she will not say what the CFA and SES budgets are is because they have been cut, despite Labor taxing Victorians another $3 billion supposedly to support our emergency services?