Nathan Guy
National Party MP

21 October 2005

ACC targets self-employed - again

National Party MP Nathan Guy says the self-employed are again being unfairly targeted under proposed changes to ACC levies in 2006/07.

ACC plans to increase levies on the self-employed by 35c per $100 of income to $3.57 in the 2006/07 year. This follows a 12c increase last year.

Mr Guy says the difference between levies paid by self-employed people and payroll employers is huge.

“This targeted increase on levies for the self-employed is unfair and unjustified.

“Most farmers are self-employed and statistics show the number of farm accidents actually reduced in the past year.”

ACC’s own statistics show the number of farm accidents dropped from 1,716 in 2003 to 1,623 in 2004. The most reassuring aspect of the statistics is that the number of fatal farm accidents dropped from 46 in 2003 to 33 in 2004.

“Most farmers I know work extremely hard to create a safe working environment. They apply commonsense principles to reduce accidents, like locking up chemicals and attending safety courses to gain certification for different aspects of their farm practices.

“Farmers recognise that a safe workplace can lead to increased productivity and therefore profitability.”

Mr Guy says ACC’s planned increases are made worse by the fact that there is no choice in the accident insurance market.

“Those who work hard to create a safe workplace don’t get rewarded. They don’t get a reduced premium. The incentives are all wrong.”

ENDS

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