On top of the steady flow of concern I receive about lack of action and perhaps spurred by the recent Channel 9 A Current Affair episode or recent discussions in the Victorian Parliament over the past month, I have received an increasing number of queries from volunteers asking:
“What is the status of Presumptive Legislation for Victorian firefighters?” and
“Why hasn’t this legislation been delivered in
accordance with a commitment made by the Victorian Government leading into the 2014 Victorian State election?”
Good questions, and I share the frustration of many of you who have expressed concern that not only has this promise not been delivered, it is now also
clear that the Victorian Government does not think that volunteers and paid firefighters should be afforded the same protection and the same simple process when they need support in the unfortunate event of suffering a firefighter related cancer.
In simplest terms
presumptive legislation remains an undelivered promise for Victorian firefighters.
A presumptive legislation arrangement was proposed by the Victorian Labor Government last year; however, in an appalling move that legislation was inappropriately tied to the
completely separate issue involving legislation to dismantle CFA. Furthermore, the proposed presumptive legislation arrangements, whilst proposing a good and simple arrangement for paid firefighters, unfortunately did NOT provide that same simple process for volunteers.
Since that time VFBV, along with many other respected public officials including legal experts, have expressed deep disappointment not only that the presumptive legislation was linked as a ransom note for a carve up of CFA but also at the deficiencies and inequity in the discriminatory arrangements proposed for volunteers.
These concerns, to date, have been ignored by the Government and worse the Government has sought to falsely set about describing their proposed legislation as something that it is clearly not, claiming that it was developed in consultation with VFBV and that it is the same as the Queensland presumptive legislation - a legislation that VFBV would welcome if this statement were in fact true.
I am very concerned that the Government is misrepresenting its proposed legislation as something that it is clearly not. It is true to say that VFBV has said the model now applying in QLD is good and should be applied in Victoria. But the Victorian Labor
Government’s proposed legislation is NOT the same as QLD and includes specific clauses that add extra hurdles and administrative complexities for volunteers. Anyone who disputes this needs to be asked to line the two bits of legislation up side by side and remove the differences and problems included in the proposed Victorian legislation for CFA volunteers.
In April this year, the Labor Government’s proposed legislation failed to gain support of the Victorian Parliament, complicated by its link with the very controversial carve up of CFA.
Subsequently an attempt by MP Daniel Young on behalf of Shooters Fishers and Farmers Party seeking to reconsider presumptive legislation as a standalone issue also failed to gain support. The motion proposed by Mr Young was defeated in the Upper House with Labor, the Greens and Reason Party MPs voting against a motion that would have allowed Presumptive Legislation for firefighters to have been passed almost six months ago.
In May this year the collation attempted to introduce presumptive compensation legislation into the Lower House, with amendments to the Government’s proposal removing the discrimination between staff and volunteers. The Lower House divided for a vote on the motion,
it was not supported by Labor MPs and was therefore defeated.
Last month a motion by independent MP James Purcell, Vote One Local Jobs, to expedite the consideration of Presumptive Legislation as a standalone legislation (i.e. separated from the fire services
structure changes and carve up of CFA) did not get support from Labor MPs who not only spoke against his motion but in my view either deliberately or accidentally misrepresented Labor’s proposed legislation as being the same for volunteers and paid staff when clearly it is not.
So, the story drags on and it is with some disappointment that I reflect on the day about five years ago now when I, along with Greens MP Colleen Hartland, then Shadow Minister James Merlino MP and several hundred volunteers, gathered outside Liberal MP Kim Wells office to try and push this issue along. Back then I called for the politics to be taken out of this issue. Back then I thought I had peoples word that volunteers would be treated the same as paid firefighters
and that legislation would happen. I was critical of the Liberal Government which was in power at the time, I am critical of the way this Government is trying to tie presumptive legislation to a carve up of CFA now. I am very critical of any MPs promoting legislation that discriminates against volunteer firefighters (and even more critical of the ones spinning that it doesn’t) and I am critical the MPs blocking attempts to expedite the passage of a rethought and fair legislation now.
Firefighters health should be beyond politics, beyond pay status and beyond misleading untruths.
VFBV, legal experts and people associated with cancer legislation in other states such as QLD, which now enjoy good presumptive legislation arrangements, have provided very clear and detailed advice to all MPs that the legislation currently proposed by the Victorian Government does not treat volunteers and paid firefighters equally and furthermore the proposed legislation does not provide a simple process for
volunteers.
Instead it sets up and perpetuates complex administrative and legal arrangements for volunteers and a much simpler process for paid firefighters. It treats volunteers and paid firefighters differently even though they attend the same fires, breath the
same smoke, are exposed to the same toxins and suffer the same illnesses. We have given them a simple way forward based on removing the extra volunteer hurdles in the Victorian proposal, but this has been ignored.
For now, it looks like there needs to be a rocket
put under this issue and I encourage all volunteers to reactivate on this matter. Write to your local MP, raise this concern within your local community networks, talk as broadly as you can and let everyone know about the frustration that we now face at every fire and now heading into another summer, without fair and simple protections if it comes to seeking help for a firefighter related cancer.
If you were a volunteer or paid firefighter in QLD, TAS, SA, WA, ACT, NT you would be better supported. Are CFA volunteers worth less?
