Sue
MORONEY
ACC Spokesperson

22 September 2015 MEDIA STATEMENT

Early levy removal shows crisis manufactured

The early removal of ACC residual levies confirms that National’s manufactured crisis in ACC when they took office was just an excuse to over-charge ACC levies for the past seven years, Labour’s ACC spokesperson Sue Moroney says.

The residual levy is being removed at least two years early. This means the lifetime costs of injuries incurred prior to 1999 has been met by ACC earlier than projected.

“This announcement underlines the sham that National’s manufactured crisis was – under their criteria, ACC had been insolvent since 1999 when the decision was made to go to a full-funding model.

“Nothing will change the fact that New Zealanders have been over-charged for ACC levies under National.

“Labour will today introduce an amendment to the ACC legislation that would prevent National from continuing to use inflated levies to prop-up its failure to get the Crown accounts into surplus.

“This amendment would allow the Minister to consider the public interest in reducing accidents and injuries when setting levies, but would stop the Government from using the ‘public interest’ argument to ‘get to surplus’ – as former ACC Minister Judith Collins admitted to doing.

“If the Government is genuine about improved financial responsibility and transparency, then they will support Labour’s amendment when it is debated today,” Sue Moroney says.

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