The Palaszczuk Labor Government has finally bowed to pressure and voted to give volunteer firefighters access to adequate workers compensation.
Member for Burnett Stephen Bennett said Queensland Parliament had this week passed a Bill to protect all Queensland firefighters who contract one of 12 specified cancers in the course of protecting the community – without the need to fight 150 fires.
Mr Bennett congratulated the Rural Fire Brigade Association of Queensland for lobbying against the Labor Government’s discriminatory Bill.
“It has taken months of tireless campaigning by the Rural Fire Brigade Association of Queensland and the LNP for Labor to finally wake up and realise their own Bill was discriminatory and downright unfair to hardworking volunteers,” Mr Bennett said.
“The uncertainty, the anguish and the confusion could have all been avoided if the Palaszczuk Government simply supported the original Bill introduced by the LNP three months ago.
“It’s extremely disappointing, but not surprising, that Labor was prepared to dig its heels in and put politics ahead of the protection of hardworking volunteers.”
“It’s great to see that finally we have had a win for rural firefighters in our region and across Queensland.”