Big bucks for Aussie insurers in ACC privatisation
It seems certain National will begin the privatisation of ACC starting with opening the work account to private competition. As happened in 1998, […]
Economy
ACC
ACC protests send clear message to NACT
Today hundreds of people around the country marched against the cuts to sexual abuse counselling due to be implemented by ACC next week. […]
Told you so: Right pushes ACC privatisation
Last Thursday, Colin Espiner was mocking all of us who said that National and other rightwing groups were trying to create a sense […]
Smith still lying with numbers
Last week, David Parker asked Nick Smith what the “whole-of-life cost to ACC of all new claims” for the last year were. Smith’s […]
Woodhouse: ACC not in crisis
A fascinating interview with the Sir Owen Woodhouse in the Herald today. Sir Owen has led an amazing life – after helping supply Yugoslav partisans […]
Protests against cuts to sexual abuse cover
[Pulling the following comment from Toad in Open Mike up to the front page.] If you are in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch or Dunedin […]
ACC a good investor
The other day, John Key said “ACC’s investment portfolio had not been working well”. Now, if there’s one golden rule regarding people with […]
It’s called politics, Colin
Colin, I think we need to discuss your work: the conspiracy theory peddled by Labour and the EPMU (i.e. Labour) that somehow this […]
Fiasco after fiasco
It seems National has a problem with numbers. First they fudge the numbers for ACC so they can claim a “blow out” and […]
Spin-busting: ACC rises and cuts
The Herald’s editorial today largely reads like it was written by Nick Smith and John Judge, so let’s use it as the basis […]
Nick Smith plays dumb
Answering the question you wish you were asked rather than the one you were is a common PR tactic (to a point) when […]
The Independent on National’s ACC agenda
Very good editorial on ACC in The Independent today. The article’s offline, but it’s quite clear about why the Government is trying to […]
March against ACC cuts
From October 27th, survivors of sexual violence will only be eligible for ACC funded counselling if they are first diagnosed with a mental […]
Oldest trick in the book
How do you get someone to change their mind about something they like? Simple, find one negative element to it (nothing is perfect) […]
We still pay, ACC or no ACC
Labour’s David Parker has been a bit slow reacting to National’s latest attack on ACC but now he’s in play he has a […]
A quick question
Do any health insurance companies fully fund long-term claims in the way ACC is being asked to?
First, manufacture a crisis…
The first thing you need to understand is ACC is not spending more money than it is taking in through levies. It is […]
“Blow out” more like Blowup
Readers of a certain age will remember an Antonioni film called Blowup. The title conceit involves a photographer who finds what appears to […]
Talleys: Corporate scum
I’ve long been of the opinion that the Talley family, owners of the Talleys food empire, are a corrosive force in this country […]
Anyone else get the feeling…?
National dumps worker reps from ACC board
Nick Smith announced National’s changes to the ACC board this afternoon. As expected they’ve kicked Wayne Butson and Ross Wilson off the board, […]
ACC killed Kennedy says Smith
Fresh on the heels of allegations ACC has blown-out and is likely to decimate New Zealand’s credit rating, Accident Compensation Minister Nick Smith […]
CTU busts ACC spin
Over the last week or so the Government, and Nick Smith in particular, have run a dishonest PR campaign to undermine ACC and […]
Cutting through the spin on ACC
We’ve heard a lot of panicky comments in the last few weeks about a ‘cost blowout’ at ACC. We’re told there is $22 […]
Experts: National lying over ACC
The wheels are starting to come off National’s PR campaign to undermine ACC as more and more people notice the gap between their […]
How to reduce ACC costs without cutting cover
The sensationalist tone of media releases regarding the financial situation at ACC has ignored the causes behind this so called ‘blow out’. The investment […]
Shafted
This is good. Here’s what ACC’s ads might look like once National’s had its way with it: [Hat tip: Clarke in the comments]
What they’re hiding
Interesting to see that the new ACC board chairman, John Judge, is an alumnus/affiliate member of the Business Roundtable. That’s the same Business […]
Softening up
A few points on the ACC issue and one on Kiwirail. Nick Smith says that, with assets of $10 and liabilities of $21 […]
NRT on National’s ACC antics
I’ve been meaning to write something about National’s attempts to beat up ACC’s costs in order to soften the ground for privatisation (see […]
Played like a fiddle
Yesterday, when the inquiry came back on whether the shortfall in ACC funding should have been disclosed in the PREFU, Bill English quickly […]
The final cut
Merry Christmas from National
National’s decides to hit workers in the pocket: ACC Minister Nick Smith yesterday said levies would increase from $1.40 to $1.70 for every […]
Spinbusting: the anchor-story
There’s a lot of talk about the ACC budget deficit and National’s use of the issue to create an environment in which their […]
Laying the foundations
Let’s not fool ourselves that what we’ve seen from National over the last 24 hours on to the shortfall in the ACC non-earners […]
A smoke-screen for the privatisation brigade
Now that didn’t take long. Well rehearsed from the 1990s, National has already started using the privileged position of government to conjure up […]