Today MBIE has released a shameful discussion document proposing only to add firefighting in relation to bladder cancer and mesothelioma into the Schedule 2 Occupational Diseases of the Accident Compensation Act 2001. Mesothelioma and bladder cancer are already listed in the schedule.
The NZPFU is gutted that the Government’s consultation is restricted to such a limited list, and is only a review of Schedule 2 which does not provide a presumption to ensure access to ACC entitlements.
Firefighters put their quality and quantity of life on the line every time they respond. It is despicable that Government agencies not only ignore the reality of their occupational exposures, but attempt to undermine the significant rate of occupational cancer among New Zealand’s firefighters.
Tinkering with Schedule 2 will never provide the protections that firefighters deserve!
It has been globally and repeatedly recognised that presumptive legislation is the ONLY mechanism that provides firefighters access for their occupational diseases.
Due to the nature of firefighting, firefighters cannot pinpoint the specific toxins and carcinogens that they are exposed to at every fire and the research has shown the toxicity of exposures is cumulative. There are thousands of toxins in the average house fire – building materials and glues, furnishings and household appliances and plastics are a cocktail of carcinogens and when they combust the toxicity compounds exponentially.
Every state and territory in Australia, every province in Canada and almost every state in the USA has presumptive legislation to recognise specific firefighting cancers. The recognised formula for presumptive legislation is to list the specific cancers, require specific years of service as a firefighter for the specific cancer, in order for that cancer to be presumed occupational and therefore covered by ACC. It is a rebuttable presumption to accommodate situations where there is a genetic disposition or other likely reason for the diagnosis.
There are currently 18 cancers recognised as firefighters occupational cancers in global presumptive legislation. Each and every one of those Governments have accepted the overwhelming international research which has demonstrated the significantly increased incidence of these cancers due to the exposures to carcinogens through the occupation of firefighting.
Schedule 2 does not provide a presumption.
The proposed changes will do nothing to assist firefighters in their fight for their ACC entitlements.
The proposed references to firefighting in schedule 2 for two cancers already included will not change the ongoing battle that dozens of New Zealand’s firefighters undertake every year to access their ACC entitlements. Meanwhile many have to fund their own treatment and are left financially bereft while the wheels of bureaucracy slowly turns…
- Firefighters will still have to put together a dossier of their career in firefighting and types of exposures in their bid for cover. At a time they should be concentrating on treatment, attempting to reduce stress and spend precious time with their families, they are instead trawling through records and media stories to try and put their work history together.
- Firefighters will still have their claims considered by the ACC Toxicology Panel that applies a made-up matrix that is used regularly to recommend refusal of claims. The Panel only sits 4 times a year, so firefighters can wait for months and for the vast majority of firefighters’ occupational claims only to be told the panel does not recommend cover.
- Firefighters then wait for FENZ to decide to accept the ACC Toxicology Panel’s recommendation to refuse cover. In almost every case FENZ relies on the Toxicology Panel’s recommendation.
- Firefighters will still have to fight for cover through a Review and possibly an Appeal process. The NZPFU (which is funded by the members), funds the costs of the necessary specialist reports and legal assistance. This takes more time and adds to the stress which can undermine any treatment and recovery.
- More often than not firefighters have their claims accepted upon Review. The Review decisions repeatedly criticise the ACC toxicology panel and FENZ for not applying the ACC legislation and instead imposing the made-up matrix as a basis to refuse cover.
Plethora of evidence
The consultation document claims an expert panel has examined the epidemiological studies to decide that firefighting will only be referenced against two cancers that are already in Schedule 2. In 2022, IARC thoroughly reviewed the scientific literature and classified firefighting as the highest rating on the basis of sufficient evidence for cancer in humans. The consultation document has watered down the World Health Organisation IARC Grade 1 rating the occupation of firefighting “being carcinogenic to humans” to only the references of mesothelioma and bladder.
The 2022 IARC monograph resulted from decades of work by firefighters, their unions, and the scientific community in understanding the incidence and causes of firefighters’ occupational cancer. The research dates back to the era of child chimney sweeps and has reverberated across the world demonstrating time and time again the significantly increased incidence of specific cancers for firefighters and that the incidence increases with the increased years of service.
The MBIE consultation document does a dis-service to the significance of the findings and the breadth of the research.
Further, the consultation document restricts the responses to specific questions and does not provide the opportunity to properly examine the case for occupational cancer.
The NZPFU will not accept this attempt to side-line and undermine firefighters’ occupational cancer. We will continue our decade-long battle for proper recognition through presumptive legislation.
In unity,
Wattie Watson
National Secretary
