Volunteer Firefighters, Workers Compensation

The SPEAKER: The Deputy Premier is like the greyhound in the slips.

The Hon. J.R. RAU (Enfield—Deputy Premier, Attorney-General, Minister for Justice Reform, Minister for Planning, Minister for Housing and Urban Development, Minister for Industrial Relations) (15:34): Yes, thank you very much, Mr Speaker, and congratulations on your re-election. I seek leave to make a ministerial statement.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.R. RAU: The state government values the important role of our volunteer firefighters and the role they play in keeping our community safe. This fire danger season was the busiest on record and kept hundreds of CFS staff and volunteers constantly active. It is remarkable that no lives were lost, and property damage was significantly minimised thanks to the efforts of the CFS and the emergency services.

Before the state election, the government made a commitment to review amendments that were made late last year to the Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1986 in relation to presumptive legislation for our emergency service firefighters. Today, I will update the house on progress made by the government and relevant parties since the election.

The house will recall that, on 19 June 2013, I introduced the Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation (Firefighters) Amendment Bill 2013. With support from both sides of politics, this bill was passed by both houses late last year. The bill—one of the most progressive in the country on the issue of presumptive legislation, matched only by the Tasmanian government— removes the onus of proof on paid firefighters as well as a cohort of CFS volunteer firefighters who attend a number of fires comparable to their metropolitan fire service counterparts.

Let me be very clear: no firefighter, whether volunteer or paid, is precluded from lodging a workers compensation claim under the current arrangements for cancer compensation. What changed with the government amendments last year is that all MFS and CFS firefighters who meet particular thresholds are no longer subject to the onus of proof when seeking compensation.

Mr Williams interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Would the Deputy Premier be seated. The member for MacKillop will now withdraw the imputation of misleading.

Mr WILLIAMS: I withdraw my inappropriate claim that the minister was misleading the house, sir.

The SPEAKER: Thank you. Deputy Premier.

The Hon. J.R. RAU: Thank you very much for your assistance, Mr Speaker. Since the state election, the Hon. Tony Piccolo (Minister for Emergency Services), the member for Frome and myself have discussed the legislation and the demands of the volunteers, and have met with interested parties from the following: the Country Fire Service, the CFS Volunteers Association, the Metropolitan Fire Service, the United Firefighters Union and SAFECOM, as well as others. It has been agreed that the assumptions made in the original actuarial report commissioned by the government would be reviewed by a working group of interested parties, and costings for various presumptive legislation options would be again developed by an independent actuarial specialist.

The process of reviewing the assumptions is already well underway and is progressing free of any political involvement. The government will seek to appoint an independent actuarial specialist agreed upon by the working group.

It is imperative that the review process is undertaken with transparency and in a timely manner. I expect the working group will agree upon the various assumptions within a matter of weeks and that the independent review will be complete within about three months, allowing the government to consider its options and meet its commitment to the volunteers by the end of September.

The Minister for Emergency Services and I, together with the member for Frome, again thank the CFS volunteers and the various parties for their engagement with the government in recent weeks, and we look forward to working further with them. I look forward to updating the house as this matter is progressed.

Ms CHAPMAN: Point of order, sir.

The SPEAKER: The first point of order of the parliament.

Ms CHAPMAN: Yes, if I may, sir. The minister appears to address the member for Frome by his representation of his electorate. My understanding is that, if appointed as a minister, they should be addressed by their most senior title—the minister for regional development and local government. That should be recognised by the Deputy Premier, and he should know better.

The SPEAKER: It has always been my practice that members may use either. I introduced every member to the Governor today by his or her electorate, not by the executive office he or she holds.

Ms CHAPMAN: Thank you, member for Croydon.

The SPEAKER: It's a pleasure. There is one in the back of the net! Deputy Premier.

The Hon. J.R. RAU: Mr Speaker, the honourable minister and I will have a chat a bit later but I am sure he was not offended by the reference to his great electorate.