Firies will help pay for own compo, Labor says
THE State Labor Opposition has slammed the Coalition Government for funding an increase in workers’ compensation coverage for firefighters from the Emergency Services Levy (ESL), which is added to insurance policies. Labor believes the funding should have come from consolidated revenue and the workers compensation scheme itself, rather than bumping up insurance bills.
This follows heated debate in the lead-up to the March state election over a government proposal to reform the tax by taking it off insurance bills and adding it to council rates. There was also much criticism that people who don’t insure their property, and so don’t pay the ESL, are getting expensive services for free.
Shadow emergency services minister Guy Zangari was scathing in his criticism.
“The Berejiklian-barilaro Government has tried to sneakily pass on the costs of its new measures to increase workers compensation coverage for volunteer and career firefighters onto ordinary people across NSW, including those emergency service workers who the government’s measures are meant to assist,” Mr Zangari said.
“The Government decided without telling the public that the funding for these changes would be collected from the Emergency Services Levy.
“This means that the costs of these measures will be passed on to ordinary people and to local councils including through a 15 per cent increase to the home insurance ESL levy, which will cost ordinary people – including the career and volunteer firefighters this package is meant to assist – approximately $100 million per year,” he said.
He said the Liberals and Nationals made no attempt to explain how these new measures to increase workers compensation coverage for career and volunteer firefighters would be paid for when the bills were passed.
NSW Shadow Treasurer Ryan Park said the NSW Liberals and Nationals have simply not been honest with the public.
“They never once said how this package would be paid for and have sneakily passed the cost on to the people of NSW,” Mr Park said.
Newly elected Member for Dubbo Dugald Saunders said this cost-sharing arrangement is consistent with how the Emergency Services Levy has been funded historically.
“To ensure our state’s firefighters receive the medical support and care they require in their hour of need, the NSW Emergency Services Levy will increase as part of a cost-sharing arrangement with insurers, councils and the government,” Mr Saunders said.
“Insurers will meet 73.7 per cent of the cost, Councils will provide 11.7 per cent, with the Government funding the remaining 14.6 per cent.
“Their service sometimes comes at a personal cost to health and safety, and we must ensure we have their back,” Mr Saunders said.
The NSW Parliament passed the Workers Compensation Legislation Amendment (Firefighters) Bill 2018 on November 22, 2018, with support from across major and minor parties.
This enables eligible firefighters diagnosed with any of 12 specified primary cancers, and who meet the corresponding minimum qualifying periods of service, to automatically be presumed to have developed the cancer because of their firefighting work or volunteer service.