The woman behind a Parliamentary petition calling for volunteer firefighters across New Zealand to have the same ACC coverage as their paid counterparts says she is “delighted” the member’s bill was on Thursday pulled from the biscuit tin in Wellington. Queenstown volunteer fire brigade secretary Katherine Lamont launched her petition — signed by 36,549 people — last March, which noted volunteer firefighters made up 86% of the Fire and Emergency NZ (Fenz) workforce, carried the same risks and responsibilities and completed the same core training as their paid counterparts, but were excluded from full ACC provisions. She was spurred into action after Kingston’s former chief fire officer Peter Ottley had to step down from his volunteer role, and take time off from his paid employment, after being diagnosed with PTSD triggered by a fatal crash between a bus and a car in December, 2024. Because it was trauma stemmed from a volunteer role, he was not eligible for ACC cover. Last December Parliament’s education and workforce committee released its report on the petition, which showed, in 2024, ACC projected the cost of expanding coverage to volunteer firefighters at $244,533 each year — by its own admission “a fairly minor cost increase”. However, concerns over where the funding would come from, and its precedent-setting nature, meant the committee’s recommendation was for the House to ‘‘take note’’ of its report. But Mrs Lamont said having the member’s bill — lodged by Labour’s Kieran McAnulty, a former volunteer firefighter — drawn on Thursday was “a significant step forward”. “It’s amazing. “It’s been a long slog but, wow — how exciting.” Mr McAnulty said volunteer firefighters faced traumatic and dangerous working conditions, put themselves on the line to protect New Zealanders, and would be surprised if anyone opposed the legislation. “They deserve an ACC system that recognises the risks they take and supports them if they’re injured or become ill as a result of their service,” he said. “They don’t stop to ask whether they’re protected before running into a burning building and Parliament shouldn’t hesitate to ensure they’re properly covered afterwards.” Mrs Lamont said one of her first calls when she heard the news was to Mr Ottley’s partner, who was “just about in tears”. She paid tribute to Mr Ottley for “standing up and sharing his story”. “Without that, this wouldn’t have had anywhere near the airtime in the past 18 months — it just wouldn’t have got near the media. “And I do credit the media with a lot of the momentum that this has had … I think the media have swung this more than anybody else.” Mrs Lamont was given a bottle of bubbles from Mr Ottley and his fiancee when her petition went through, but decided to delay popping the cork “until I’ve actually done something”. While still too soon to take it off ice, “I’m really hopeful this is the momentum we need”. — Additional reporting RNZ
