Thursday, 22 June 2023

Firefighters presumptive rights

Ann-Marie HERMANS (South-Eastern Metropolitan) (17:33): (314) My adjournment is for the Minister for Emergency Services. The action I seek is for the minister to (a) provide all Victorian women who have worked or are working in career fire service roles, women who have worked or are working in voluntary firefighting roles and me with more clarity in the explanation of whether the additional presumptive cancers for firefighting women, including cervical, ovarian and uterine cancers, will be, like the other cancers, extended to cover women who have performed in roles as volunteers and in non-firefighting career roles for fire services, including vehicle and equipment maintenance roles; (b) include people who have been diagnosed since June 2016, as specified on the WorkSafe website, for current presumptive cancers; (c) explain why the additional female-specific conditions have taken so long to be recognised and added to the list; and (d) provide an explanation as to why Victoria is only expanding its number of cancers from 12 to 15, when Tasmania under a Liberal government have also expanded their list of cancers to 20 to include thyroid cancer, pancreatic cancer, penile cancer, lung cancer, skin cancer and malignant mesothelioma. This government only announced a couple of weeks ago that women’s reproductive cancers, like cervical, ovarian and uterine cancers, would be added to the list of conditions that are automatically presumed to be caused by firefighting, taking the list from 12 presumptive cancers to 15 in Victoria.

Since the Firefighters’ Presumptive Rights Compensation and Fire Services Legislation Amendment (Reform) Act 2019 Victorian men have received presumptive cover for testicular and prostate cancers. Our men and women volunteer firefighters want the same access and rights to presumptive cancer coverage, and women working and volunteering for firefighting services have waited far too long for this presumptive coverage for biological female specific cancer conditions.

Presumptive legislation presumes that a firefighter who has worked for a period of time and has been diagnosed with a specific cancer has contracted that cancer as a result of cumulative workplace exposures to hazardous materials; for example, when entering burning structures. Research suggests firefighters contract cancer at a higher rate than the general population because of the chemicals they are exposed to in structure fires – for example, house fires. Workers compensation claims rely on cause and effect. In other words, if you cannot see the fire hose through the smoke – which is the cause – which causes you to trip on the hose, you sprain your ankle, which is the effect. However, firefighters are often exposed to chemicals and toxins as part of their role to fight fires, making it difficult to pinpoint the day and time they were exposed to a cancer-causing agent and developed cancer. This is why the presumptive law exists.