9th November2012
NEWSLETTER NO 8/2012
Hi to all.
It is with deep sorrow that I pass on the sad news that an ex firie, Colin Kuhn passed away at 0300 on the 22nd October after a long illness with MS. Colin had suffered this very debilitating disease for many years and had spent a large number of these in a Nursing Home. I, like everyone who knew Colin will mourn his passing. I do not have contact details for his family at this stage however I will send them on if I am able to obtain them.
CHEMICAL INQUIRY.
I’m sorry to report that there has been absolutely no response to my latest submission from either the Vet Affairs Minister, the Prime Minister or the Defence Minister. During my discussions with the CAF he stated that the Vet Affairs Minister Snowden was very concerned with this problem and that they had had discussions re this. It appears to me that whilst Minister Snowden has, (as one would expect) shown the CAF due respect, he has absolutely no respect for us. It appears that we are not worthy of receiving even a brief acknowledgement of these submissions. If he thinks that by ignoring us we will go away he is sadly mistaken.
Some addition details have been revealed recently that can only assist us.
COST OF POINT COOK CLEANUP
Remediation works on the 950,000 litres of toxic liquid has risen from $27.3 million to $30.4 million and is set to start early next year and will run for more than 12 months.
SOUTH AUSTRALIAN TO COMPENSATE FIREFIGHTERS FOR JOB-RELATED CANCERS.
The government will change the law to give fire fighters automatic access to Work Cover payments for cancers including primary brain, bladder and kidney cancers.
Premier Jay Weatherill says fire fighters are at a higher risk of cancer than other people because of their exposure to toxic chemicals and dangerous materials when tackling blazes.
He says that SA will be the first state to offer such compensation.
Mr Wetherill said certain cancers would be presumed to be work-related and fire fighters would not have to prove the link.
CFA CLASS ACTION.
I have been reliably informed that the retired Victorian CFA members have engaged Slater & Gordon to pursue a class action in relation to the chemical contamination those members suffered during their work. I do not have information on what their claim details are at this stage.
WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
It has been suggested to me that perhaps we as a group should look at a class action similar to that which has been taken by the Victorian CFA. This has never been raised as an option with any of our submissions and I must say that I am very reluctant to take this action as this has never been about being paid out but rather than having the Vet Affairs Department accept that the medical conditions suffered by our members was caused by Chemical Contamination and give them automatic cover. The cover afforded to the SA fire fighters and that under the new Commonwealth cover are a step in the right direction however they still do not give the required cover for the many neurological conditions that our members have suffered. I will continue to fight to obtain an inquiry so that we have ALL of these conditions investigated.
Whilst as I have stated I am not totally in favour of taking a class action I recognise that this is not about me and that all of you should have a say in the direction that we should look at taking. There is no doubt that we are being ignored at this time and perhaps the threat of legal action may be the best way to obtain some sort of resolution. I do not see this as being an immediate step but rather an alternative should our appeals be continually ignored in the future. As I am unaware of the process of taking out a class action I have contacted Slater & Gordon and gave them the details of our possible claims. The team who handle these claims will contact me within the next two weeks. I informed the lady that I spoke to that this is just a fact finding request at this stage so that I can pass on to all the details of taking up this action. I would seek the co-operation of all before proceeding with this.
I have therefore placed a survey form at the end of this Newsletter which I would appreciate you all completing, and return to me by 14 December. In this survey I have asked for details of your medical conditions and if these have been accepted by DVA. I can guarantee that this information will only be used for numbers and no names will ever be used. At this time I can say that these various conditions have been diagnosed however I do not know how many of these there are. This information will be extremely valuable in obtaining more publicity for our cause.
I would also like to record the details of the complaints that wife’s/partners and children of members have suffered. There appears to be a possibility that some of our family members may have developed problems related to the fact that we took our clothing home for cleaning and did we transfer contamination on our skin to our families. Should we get an inquiry this is certainly a concern that will be raised. I have not included this in the survey form however I ask you to supply these details as well please.
GENERAL INFO
Our membership is growing all of the time with several asking to be placed on the Newsletter list as most are interested in attending the next reunion. I have even heard from an ex RAF firie who now lives in Bargara and have added him to the list. His name is Colin Ellicock and he served for 37 years including a posting to Butterworth. He remembers a few of the RAAF boys that were there at the time. I would have met him as I spent a few days at Butterworth on my way through to Ubon in January 1963.
Speaking of the reunion I have started contacting various venues and have one which looks like a good deal. A lot more negotiating to do yet however we are on our way.
Finally as this will probably be the last Newsletter of the year, (Unless we get big developments) I would like to take this opportunity to wish all a most enjoyable Christmas and wonderful and prosperous New Year.
Pat & Pat
SURVEY.
NAME:______
DATE SERVED, FROM:______TO:______
Have you suffered from any of the following?
Brain Cancer ______Has this been accepted by DVA? ______
Bladder Cancer ______Has this been accepted by DVA? ______
Kidney Cancer ______Has this been accepted by DVA? ______
Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma ______Has this been accepted by DVA? ______
Leukaemia ______Has this been accepted by DVA? ______
Breast Cancer ______Has this been accepted by DVA? ______
Testicular Cancer ______Has this been accepted by DVA? ______
Multiple myeloma ______Has this been accepted by DVA? ______
Prostate Cancer ______Has this been accepted by DVA? ______
Ureter Cancer ______Has this been accepted by DVA? ______
Colorectal Cancer ______Has this been accepted by DVA? ______
Oesophageal Cancer ______Has this been accepted by DVA? ______
Pituitary Gland Cancer ______Has this been accepted by DVA? ______
Throat Cancer ______Has this been accepted by DVA? ______
Liver Cancer ______Has this been accepted by DVA? ______
Angio Sarcoma Cancer ______Has this been accepted by DVA? ______
Acute Transverse Myelitis ______Has this been accepted by DVA? ______
Peripheral Neuropathy ______Has this been accepted by DVA? ______
Tourette’s ______Has this been accepted by DVA? ______
Multiple Sclerosis ______Has this been accepted by DVA? ______
Motor Neurone ______Has this been accepted by DVA? ______
Skin conditions ______Has this been accepted by DVA? ______
ANY OTHER CONDITIONS; ______
______
______
DO YOU BELIEVE THAT WE SHOULD TAKE LEGAL ACTION IF ALL ELSE FAILS? ______