"Employers and self-employed people are going to be winners again next year thanks to the changes this Government has introduced to delivery of the ACC scheme," the Minister for Accident Insurance, Murray McCully, said today.

Mr McCully told the House today that ACC would be releasing a consultation document on Thursday on funding the residual claims levy which includes an option that could save employers close to $140 million dollars this coming year.

The residual claims levy is collected from all employers each year to fund the entitlements of people injured at work in the past. This year the average levy is 67 cents per $100 of wages. Last financial year, around $326 million was collected from businesses.

"I have said publicly that I expected the levy to reduce to around 50 cents. As usual, we are under-promising and over-delivering.

"ACC will be consulting on three options for funding the tail, including reducing the levy to an average 39 cents per $100, collecting around $189 million. This is as a result of good performance by ACC in reducing the "tail" of past claims." Mr McCully said.

The consultation documents will be released later this week. ACC will be seeking submissions and will then make a recommendation to the Government on its preferred option.

"If it is decided to go with the 39 cents option, that coupled with the savings that have come about as a result of the introduction of competition to workplace accident insurance, means employers will save at least $340 million over 12 months as a result of this Government's reforms," Mr McCully said.

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>>