EMERGENCY SERVICES LEVY —
REVENUE
956. Hon PETER COLLIER to
the minister representing the Minister for Emergency Services:
My question is asked on behalf of Hon
Dr Steve Thomas, who is on urgent parliamentary business.
I refer to the minister's
entry in the Government Gazette of 19 June 2020 that indicated that
emergency services levy revenue for 2020–21 is expected to be around
$30 million down on the previous year.
(1) Is the
indicated reduction of ESL revenue due to this year's revaluation of
the gross rental value or unimproved value of properties by the WA
Valuer-General?
(2) If no to (1), why is the total
ESL revenue collected expected to be down?
(3) What will the impact of the
reduced ESL revenue be?
(4) Will the
government top up the budget of the Department of Fire and Emergency Services
from the consolidated fund to compensate for the reduced ESL revenue?
(5) Will the
minister guarantee that no emergency brigade or service will have a reduction
in funding in 2020–21 compared with 2019–20 despite this
reduction in income?
Hon
STEPHEN DAWSON replied:
I thank Hon Dr Steve Thomas for some
notice of the question. The following answer has been provided to me by the
Minister for Emergency Services.
(1) No.
(2)–(5) The
McGowan government will continue its record level of investment in emergency
services and community safety. All details
of the state's emergency services funding will be released in the state
budget.