ACC declares war on claimants

The Alliance Party believes that the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) has declared war on scheme claimants in order to make it profitable ahead of possible privatisation.

“On the same week as Anzac Day falls, the Government and ACC have chosen to declare war on some of the most vulnerable New Zealanders who rely on the corporation to provide an income for them while they are being rehabilitated,” says Alliance Party ACC spokesperson Chris Ford.

Some of the most worrying moves which have recently been reported include more declines for surgery, a concerted move on the part of the Corporation to clear long term claimants (known as ‘the tail’) off its books and reductions in compensation payouts.

“Yesterday at a talk hosted by the ACClaim Otago organisation (an advocacy group representing ACC clients and their families), these moves were clinically analysed in an excellent talk given by Dunedin-based lawyer Peter Sara. Mr Sara, who has had long experience in dealing with ACC law talked about how he had seen more case work come in with respect to surgery declines and aggressive review tactics over the last year. During his talk given to over 100 people, this eminent lawyer argued that the evidence was stacking up towards privatisation,” said Mr Ford.

These suspicions on the part of Mr Sara and ACC advocates have only been strengthened through reports on Friday that a steering group has given the green light for Government to privatise the ACC work based account. The Alliance believes that this outcome is now a foregone conclusion.

“Despite the government continuing to state that deregulating the workplace insurance market does not amount to ACC privatisation, to all intents and purposes it actually is. The last time this occurred was when National and New Zealand First held the reins of office in 1998. Back then, the outcome was disastrous in that many injured New Zealanders had their claims declined. What will happen now is that National and Act will seek to satisfy their insurance company mates that privatisation is back on the cards with this report.”

The Alliance Party is yet to develop a full ACC policy but intends to work with groups like ACClaim to do so. However, the party reiterated that any policy would be premised on a return to the Woodhouse principles of 24 hour, 7 day a week no fault cover, with compensation set at a rate of 80 percent of a person’s pre-accident income. The party intends to keep ACC within full state ownership and would support any moves to renationalise the workplace account if it is privatised.

“To this end, we are very keen to look at an idea floated by one participant yesterday that ACC become a government department, staffed by dedicated public service workers, whose role would be to provide fair and equitable service to all ACC claimants and their families. This would strip away the profit making motive that ACC has had for many years,” said Mr Ford.

ENDS

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