Minister skirts serious issues on ACC

National Party ACC spokeswoman Pansy Wong says in celebrating a new report on ACC, Minister Maryan Street continues to skirt around the serious issues raised in a Government review just a year ago.

"The questions posed in that Labour Department review go unanswered in this new, election-year report."

That review said, among other things, there was:

*A lack of strategic planning focus on the legislative requirement for ACC to be fully funded by 2014.
*A limited amount of detailed claimant data analysis to support assumptions underpinning Future Claims Liability.
*Inconsistencies between targeted claims cost reduction and increased claims by minority groups.
*Unrealistic inflation assumptions used to forecast future liabilities.
*Staff satisfaction below target and down on last year; staff turnover above target.
*An emerging trend that case and claims management, particularly for serious injuries, is not under control.
*Increasing dissatisfaction among small and medium enterprise levy payers.

"It has taken Maryan Street three days to congratulate ACC for a report in which ACC provided the terms of reference, research, evaluation questions, and agreed to the methodology, project plans, receiving progress reports and even provided two appointed peer reviewers.

"Meanwhile, the Minister has been conveniently silent on the $5 million 'Covered' campaign which was later found to be misleading, and now she's engaged in a back-slapping exercise about a $1 million report which doesn't answer some of the serious concerns raised just a year ago.

"National has always been open about its position on ACC – we will remain faithful to the principles of a 24 hour, no-fault, comprehensive scheme. To claim anything different is simple scaremongering."