Maria Vamvakinou (Calwell, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise also to speak on the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Amendment (Fair Protection for Firefighters) Bill 2011, which was first introduced into the House in early July. I, the member for Melbourne and the member for McMillan jointly sponsored this bill to amend the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act, or what is known as the Comcare legislation. I want to thank the members for their contribution to this very important issue and for the constructive way in which this bill is presented before the House today. I felt compelled to raise the issue of fair protection for firefighters in an adjournment debate after meeting with a delegation from the United Firefighters Union of Australia who came to Canberra to raise awareness about the life-threatening aspects of their profession and to speak to us about the occupational health and safety concerns of those involved in the firefighting profession.

Since the bill's introduction, the Senate Standing Committees on Education, Employment and Workplace Relations has held an inquiry that looked into the fair protection for firefighters bill and the case for presumptive legislation. The multiparty committee received many submissions and witness statements from individuals and organisations and, having conducted site visits—which included one to Tullamarine Airport in my own electorate to view a demonstration by aviation firefighters—tabled its report last Thursday in the Senate. In thanking the member for Melbourne and the member for McMillan, I would also like to thank the work of the Senate Standing Committee on Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, chaired by Senator Gavin Marshall. I welcome the committee's report and its endorsement by members of the committee. This has been a comprehensive investigation and it is now this parliament's job to consider the findings of this investigation.

The Senate committee's report identifies key findings and recommendations guided by the facts, as is the case in the United States and Canada when it comes to fair protection for firefighters. In both those countries presumptive legislation already exists, and it is time for this parliament to enact similar legislation. Key findings of the Senate report reaffirm the original purpose of this bill, which is to provide for a rebuttable presumption for firefighters to access assistance and compensation if they are diagnosed with listed life-threatening diseases after the qualifying period of service. There are 14 listed types of cancers, and it is about recognising where, when a firefighter contracts one of these cancers, the burden of proof should sit, with appropriate safeguards in place.

The Senate report also affirms the fact that there is compelling scientific evidence demonstrating that cancer is an occupational disease for firefighters. We now know that firefighters are indeed at a greater risk of contracting some cancers because they are exposed to toxins and carcinogens in the course of the firefighting profession. The report also found that firefighters can never be fully protected from the hazard of absorbing toxins and carcinogens as the firefighting protective clothing must be able to breathe; otherwise, the firefighter would perish from metabolic heat build-up. It also found that the current legislation is an inadequate mechanism to achieve the objective of providing assistance and compensation for work related illness for firefighters.

The fact is that there is scientific evidence; there is a non-exhaustive list of occupational cancers directly associated with the firefighting profession. There is also evidence of the positive benefits that have resulted from legislation similar to that before us in North America, where there is not only an increased awareness of cancer among firefighters but also a more proactive approach to the health and wellbeing of firefighters, earlier detection of cancer and therefore a better chance of treatment and survival. That has a positive impact for recruitment and retention in fire services. We should note these facts and be guided by them. Concerns about the possible flow-on effects, notions of a flood of claims and costs associated with similar presumptive legislation in Canada and the Unites States, are entirely negligible, as the Senate report has identified.

If ever there was proof of the courageous and essential work that our firefighters do it was, as the member for Melbourne said, here in Canberra last week, when our firefighters had to battle a huge chemical blaze as a result of a toxic explosion. That is an example of the hazardous nature of this job. And it is not only the big toxic fires that risk firefighters' health but everyday household fires, with which the risks increase with the length of service.

It is important, therefore, that this parliament continues to reflect the evidence based approach to this issue shown so far by the members and senators who have contributed to this debate in a non-partisan way and that it recognise the importance of enacting presumptive legislation through the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Amendment (Fair Protection for Firefighters) Bill 2011. I commend the bill to the House.

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