United Firefighters Union of South Australia

Mr TEAGUE (Heysen) (15:00): My question is to the Premier. Will the Premier meet with the United Firefighters Union and, if not, why not? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

Mr TEAGUE: It was reported in The Advertiser yesterday that the UFU has been for months requesting a meeting with the Premier only to be told that he's too busy for the rest of the year.

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Premier) (15:00): I thank the shadow minister for his question. I had the great pleasure of meeting with the Secretary of the UFU I think the week before last. She was in attendance at a union roundtable meeting that I had. The Secretary of the UFU, Ms Max Adlam, in that forum, as only Max can, forthrightly expressed her appetite to have a meeting regarding issues that pertain to presumptive diagnoses of various cancers, on which the government has a reformist attitude.

We, as a government, have introduced legislation that I believe is before the other place—it is before the other place—to expand the number of cancers that are presumptively diagnosed. We are adding three cancers to the list. Those three cancers are for female firefighters. As a government, we are doing work with the MFS to increase the number of females who are employed as firefighters. It makes sense that cancers that weren't previously on the list were added to it.

I spoke to Ms Adlam I think in the lead-up to Easter this year and she made representations to me regarding that issue and I committed to her that I would personally ensure that we expanded the list to accommodate those cancers for female firefighters and we are now honouring that commitment. There is an appetite within the UFU to expand beyond that and add yet more cancers again. That is something that the government has indicated we are willing to engage with them on.

In relation to the meeting request that was raised by Ms Adlam at that union roundtable meeting a couple of weeks ago or thereabouts, I have since facilitated a meeting with the appropriate responsible minister, the Minister for Industrial Relations, the Hon. Kyam Maher. I understand that has now been scheduled and we will see where that meeting leads. Naturally, I have met with the UFU on a number of occasions on various matters. We would seek to facilitate that as is appropriate in the event that the issue wasn't able to be resolved through the meeting with the appropriate minister.

If something necessitates out of that, then we will judge it accordingly against other meeting commitments. My diary is pretty full between now and the end of the year. You should know that; you FOI my diary all the time. We will accommodate if appropriate if the issue isn't able to be resolved through the ordinary channels.