Queenstown Volunteer Fire Brigade

30/07/2026

Nee Naw Nee Naw

29/07/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1E7tSc7oTN/

29/07/2026

Stay safe Bobby

Queenstown firefighting and incident management specialist Bobby Lamont, right, in the US with the rest of the Kiwi specialist team helping fight wildfires in Oregon

27/07/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BWAWQuG5w/

Wairarapa-based Labour list MP, and former Minister of Emergency Management, Kieran McAnulty has launched a legislative push to grant volunteer firefighters the same ACC trauma and mental injury cover as their paid counterparts, following the selection of his Member’s Bill from the parliamentary ballot.

Link to story in comments ⬇️

23/07/2026

Thank you Kieran for your support and the support of your party.

We look forward to following this through its first reading in Parliament.

A nice story in today’s Otago Daily Times.

Katherine Lamont’s petition was what inspired me to draft the members’ bill to give volunteer firefighters the same ACC cover as paid firefighters.

The example of Kingston’s former Fire Chief, Peter Ottley, shows how unfair the system is. 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.

23/07/2026

Well said Kieran. Thank you for supporting Volunteer Firefighters

23/07/2026

This is an exciting development

The bill was lodged by Labour's Kieran McAnulty who said volunteer firefighters face traumatic and dangerous working conditions.

12/05/2026

A big ngā mihi nui to odd saint for shouting the Queenstown Firefighter volleys some 10/10 coffees and hot chocolates.

We love hopping in the trucks to look after our locals, and Odd Saint's cool little crew showed some love for us with some much appreciated vouchers 😋☕️

12/03/2026

A total fire ban will come into force for most of the Queenstown Lakes District on the 12 March, when a Prohibited Fire Season takes effect in the Lakes Fire Zone shown on the map.

🔥 All outdoor fires are banned.
🔥 Vegetation is very dry and will burn easily.
🔥 Call 111 straight away if you see flames or smoke
🔥 Go to www.checkitsalright.nz to find out what fire restrictions apply in your location.

01/03/2026

Labour ACC spokesperson Camilla Belich said last year it received a petition from volunteer firefighters on the (ACC) issue, and felt they had identified an inconsistency in the law.

"Obviously we rely heavily on volunteer firefighters in New Zealand, we rely on them to go into emergency situations and save lives."

Belich said Labour would consider changing the rules to cover mental injury for all volunteers.

"If they are injured and they receive a diagnosis of something like PTSD, they should be able to claim ACC in the same way that their paid counterparts would be."

Belich said the cost to ACC would be manageable, despite the entity running huge deficits.

"We did look into the cost issue and we know the government requested and received advice from ACC on what the cost of this could be and it really is quite minimal."

She said the cost of not covering volunteers also should be considered.

"The cost of that is the fact that we have people who are performing work for free for the benefit of all of us... and when they need support from ACC, ACC is not there for them at the moment."

Current legislation meant volunteers were only covered for physical injuries sustained by responding to events.