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Friday, October 16, 2009

ACC Suicide is painless, it brings on many changes, and I can take or leave it if I please


Smith rues 'unfortunate' suicide remark
ACC Minister Nick Smith has been forced to apologise for saying people may throw themselves "under a train" to get a payout for their families. As part of cuts to ACC entitlements, the Government is removing support for the families of suicide victims or those who commit self-harm. Explaining the changes at a press conference on Wednesday, Smith said the family of a person who committed suicide could be given up to $1 million in compensation over time. "If my doctor told me that I was terminally ill and I had 30 days to live, with the ACC rules the way they are I'd be finding myself a train to throw myself under on the 29th day because my family would be treated so much more generously," he said. After Labour raised questions in Parliament yesterday about Smith's remarks, he said his choice of words had been "unfortunate".

I don’t understand, is he saying that the reason we have one of the highest suicide rates in the OECD is because people are killing themselves for cash? Or was he being his usual brain fart self?

It’s so hard to tell these days now he’s a Minister. However, whatever, the right wing must be pretty pleased with ‘Operation Invent A Crises Then privatize’, when all is considered it’s going swimmingly. Pick a couple of dumb bits like making motorcyclists pay a fee on each bike and give some ground on that (and maybe an emotional one like suicide) and ram the really major privatization stuff through Parliament while the media’s attention is taken up with the petty issue shit. Pretty text book stuff so far.

The writing has been on the wall re ACC since National and ACT won, the game has been how to manage the perception with NZers, it wasn’t made easy last year when it was revealed that Merrill Lynch were excitedly telling the Australian Insurance industry that National’s Privatization agenda would be a $200 million dollar bonanza. The Australian insurance industry sharks are circling, and they knew about it July last year, National and ACT have had to since make it look like ACC is going to collapse so they can con the public. Why con the public? Because as the Pricewaterhouse Coopers report points out our ACC system works better than many other examples around the world so to sell it off for the benefit of the Australian insurance industry sharks is something the public wouldn’t buy. Unless the public were frightened by inflated ACC costs and a sense that ‘something must be done’ – that something of course being the privatization of ACC to our friendly South Pacific insurance sharks.

Remarkable how short public memory is isn’t it? Why it was only yesterday that Nick Smith was gagging ACC directly at a meeting so his pretense over it’s crises could not be independently reviewed, and yet the spin is all focused on small obvious things like motorcycle fees, amazing…

Gatecrasher Smith puts meeting in spin
A gatecrashing by ACC Minister Nick Smith yesterday quickly turned an otherwise routine meeting into another scene in the ongoing political imbroglio over the scheme. Dr Smith turned up unannounced at a select committee hearing on ACC and then talked over its chief executive, leading to accusations of "bizarre behaviour", "bullying" and "gagging" from Labour. The transport and industrial relations select committee was meeting for ACC's financial review and was to be addressed by its chief executive, Jan White, and new chairman John Judge, appointed only on Monday after Dr Smith sacked Ross Wilson. Mr Judge could not make the meeting but instead of being replaced by another of the board's members, Dr Smith decided to stand in, even though he was not minister during the 2007-08 year in question. Dr Smith has already been accused of gagging the board, but he went further at yesterday's meeting by interrupting Dr White as Labour MPs tried to question her about ACC's financial position. Its financial position is contentious. Dr Smith's National Government says cost blow-outs mean cuts are required. Labour says Dr Smith is manufacturing a crisis in order to bring about the changes.
He stood in on the committee so he could continue to "spin" his version of its financial position. Labour's standpoint was backed yesterday by Herald economics editor Brian Fallow, who said National's "shrill scaremongering" was irresponsible, and actuary Jonathan Eriksen, who called it complete nonsense.


So yes, all in all, ‘Operation Invent A Crises Then privatize’ is going swimmingly.

3 Comments:

At 16/10/09 10:39 am, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Nice title to your post but it does show your age.

 
At 16/10/09 11:12 am, Anonymous kerry said...

I wish nick WOULD throw himself under a train!......and take john with ya!

 
At 16/10/09 5:21 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Dealing with Acc makes you want to throw yourself under a train!
What I would like to know is what is the suicide numbers of accident victims. They victimize the victims.Acc needs independent Doctors not on their payroll and an independent review of their staff and financial records.The persons responsible for the seemingly loss of money during the financial crisis need to be held accountable not given a huge bonus.They are making a fortune out of tax payers money when it should be going to the victims.

 

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