Office of Hon Tony Ryall
Minister for State Owned Enterprises

29 June, 1999

Huge ACC Savings For SOEs

SOE Minister Tony Ryall today announced that the SOE sector would be making significant savings as a result of the Government's new workplace accident insurance plan.

"By taking advantage of their new freedom to choose an insurer, the eighteen SOEs and Housing New Zealand will between them be saving over $4 million in the coming year. The value to the taxpayer of these ongoing savings is around $50 million.

"Many of the larger SOEs are seeing savings that run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars," said Mr Ryall.

"Most SOEs are saving around a half of workplace insurance bills under the old system.

"All SOEs have been able to reduce their workplace insurance bill. And, the response from them has been extremely positive about the increased flexibility and incentives to create safer working environments that the new plan brings.

"This means that not only are the SOEs as employers winning from the new plan but employees too will see the benefit of a stronger focus on safety and rehabilitation," Mr Ryall concluded.

ENDS

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Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>