Mid Canterbury’s volunteer fire brigades are getting behind a petition to provide Accident Compensation Corporation, ACC, for volunteers who get injured on the job.

The current ACC law rules that, since volunteers don’t receive taxable wages, they don’t qualify for coverage.

If you’ve interacted with a firefighter in Mid Canterbury, they’re probably a volunteer, Ashburton chief fire officer Jeff Marshall explained.

“There’s the career firefighters, who are paid, in your cities - Timaru, Christchurch, Wellington.

“That’s their full-time job, and they’re paid for it.

“Whereas your towns, the likes of Ashburton, Blenheim, Oamaru, they are volunteer brigades, so there’s no one in those brigades that is a paid member.”

He said Ashburton is the fourth-busiest station in the country, and it's kept afloat solely by the good will of locals who offer up their free time to don the uniforms.

Hinds chief fire officer Dave Kingsbury said he’s had ACC for injuries on the job in the past.

He feels the stance ACC has taken is a “copout”.

“I’ll put it in my own terminology: I’m 64 years old, I have never been unemployed, 44 years as a volunteer.

“I’ve put a lot of time into volunteer firefighting over those [years].

“If I can’t get a little bit of bloody help when I’ve worn my body out trying to help this country, if I need a bit of assistance now, why the hell can’t I get it?”

He accepts that ACC has “a limited budget” but feels “they’re looking for any excuse they can not pay.”

“At the end of the day, it comes down to dollars. Which is wrong.

“Absolutely wrong.”

A member of the Queenstown Volunteer Fire Brigade launched the petition, which has the backing of the United Fire Brigades’ Association (UFBA) who represent some 12,000 volunteer firefighters.

“This initiative aligns closely with our Fairness and Equity Campaign,” UFBA said in a statement.

“It’s important that this petition is led by our members.

“This isn’t just the UFBA as an organisation pushing for change—it’s about the 12,000 individuals and their families who deserve better support.”

The petition closes on April 30.

by Anisha Satya