Labour ACC spokesperson Ruth Dyson said today that employers and employees have been put into a chaotic situation with the abrupt termination of the approved employer contracts with ACC.

The approved employer scheme allowed employers to manage their own claims and ensured no delay or gap in employees receiving income.

"The new Accident Insurance legislation has seen the demise of the accredited and approved employer schemes - despite the fact that in many cases they were working well.

"The flow-on effects are now being felt by employers and employees. It affects employment contracts and many very good arrangements between employers and employees.

"I have called a meeting tomorrow of employers and employees to discuss their issues of concern. I hope that ACC representatives will be able to attend and we can work together to find a sensible solution," Ruth Dyson said.

"The Employers Federation has been hailing the privatisation of ACC as a success. Yet the accredited and the approved employer schemes are being scrapped. The Federation hailed those schemes as being very successful as well - where are they now when the employers need them?"

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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>>