ACC for firefighters bill drawn - Inspired by Queenstown petition organiser
The perseverance of a passionate Queenstown woman, determined not to give up, is already turning heads in the corridors of power with the ACC for firefighters member’s bill that she inspired being drawn from the ballot system and scheduled for its first reading.
Moved by the plight of former Kingston Fire Chief Pete Ottley, Katherine Lamont, herself the wife of longtime local firefighter Bobby Lamont, launched a nationwide petition fighting for the same ACC cover for volunteer firefighters as their paid counterparts.
Ottley was forced to quit his job after suffering from PTSD following a horrific fatal bus crash on Kingston Road in December 2024.
As a volunteer Ottley doesn’t qualify for any ACC cover which sparked Lamont to fight for change. She presented a petition calling for change with 36,500 signatures to Parliament last October and on 23 July was “blown away” when the bill she inspired was drawn from the biscuit tin at Parliament.
Labour MP Kieran McAnulty, also a former volunteer firefighter, lodged the bill which he says was inspired by Lamont’s petition.
“The example of Kingston’s former fire chief Peter Ottley shows how unfair the system is,” McAnulty posted recently. “He had to step down, and his community lost a committed volunteer, because ACC didn’t provide cover. There are many more examples from right across the country. That is wrong, and I hope Parliament supports my bill so we can finally fix this.”
The bill is now scheduled for its first reading and will then be referred to the Parliamentary Select Committee process which involves public submissions. That committee then makes recommendations to Parliament before the bill goes to a second and third reading.
“It’s absolutely amazing that it got drawn. Just so exciting,” a grateful Lamont, who was inundated with messages and phone calls of support the day the news broke (24 July), says. “I wasn’t expecting it to be drawn. It’s been such a lovely surprise,” she says. “It’s felt like a long haul with not much progress.” Her first call with the news was to Ottley and his partner who were overwhelmed.
Southland MP Joseph Mooney, also a former volunteer firefighter, says Lamont “deserves a huge amount of credit for doing a brilliant piece of work”, advocating for volunteer firefighters and raising so much awareness across New Zealand about the issue.
He also paid tribute to Ottley for his courage in sharing his story which also helped bring the issue to the fore.
Mooney says realistically there may not be time for hearings on the bill before the November elections, but the first reading should happen before then.
