1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:02,640 Speaker 1: Donative trainee is The Herald's Wellington Business editor with us. Now, 2 00:00:02,680 --> 00:00:05,600 Speaker 1: how do you know, hey, you know how has ACC 3 00:00:05,880 --> 00:00:08,719 Speaker 1: gone from a nearly billion dollar surplus last year to 4 00:00:08,760 --> 00:00:11,240 Speaker 1: a seven billion dollar deficit this year? War happened? 5 00:00:11,840 --> 00:00:15,920 Speaker 2: Good question. Now, a number of things contributed towards this. 6 00:00:16,520 --> 00:00:19,439 Speaker 2: One of the things that ACC pointed out was the 7 00:00:19,480 --> 00:00:22,759 Speaker 2: fact that it's taking people who get injured longer to 8 00:00:23,000 --> 00:00:25,880 Speaker 2: get rehabilitated, to get their injury sorted and to get 9 00:00:25,920 --> 00:00:29,840 Speaker 2: back to back to work. Now, I thought, well, well 10 00:00:29,840 --> 00:00:34,240 Speaker 2: that's interesting. You know what, what's what's changed? And one 11 00:00:34,280 --> 00:00:37,080 Speaker 2: of the things that pointed to was the problems in 12 00:00:37,120 --> 00:00:40,360 Speaker 2: the health sector, the staff shortages. It means it's taking 13 00:00:40,400 --> 00:00:43,680 Speaker 2: people longer to be seen by a health professional, and 14 00:00:43,720 --> 00:00:46,800 Speaker 2: then it's also the gap between consultations with a health 15 00:00:46,800 --> 00:00:49,680 Speaker 2: professional is also increasing. So all of that means we 16 00:00:49,760 --> 00:00:54,040 Speaker 2: are staying injured, unproductive for longer and that's weighing on 17 00:00:54,080 --> 00:00:59,400 Speaker 2: ACC's books. Another thing that it pointed to was a 18 00:00:59,440 --> 00:01:05,199 Speaker 2: particular court case that wrapped up that increased the number 19 00:01:05,240 --> 00:01:08,160 Speaker 2: of people entitled to ACC cover. Now this is quite 20 00:01:08,200 --> 00:01:12,040 Speaker 2: a curly court ruling, but it relates to people who 21 00:01:12,040 --> 00:01:15,600 Speaker 2: were sexually assaulted as children, and it relates to their 22 00:01:15,640 --> 00:01:19,679 Speaker 2: ability to get ACC cover for the mental injury that 23 00:01:19,720 --> 00:01:23,880 Speaker 2: they suffer as an adult due to that childhood use 24 00:01:24,000 --> 00:01:24,800 Speaker 2: that they suffered. 25 00:01:24,959 --> 00:01:27,160 Speaker 1: Is it the mental injury? I gause. First of all, 26 00:01:27,200 --> 00:01:29,959 Speaker 1: obviously the people that are being covered here are new, 27 00:01:30,319 --> 00:01:34,240 Speaker 1: but the injury, the mental injury, is that new as well. 28 00:01:34,560 --> 00:01:37,720 Speaker 2: It's basically the coverage. So there's a complicated thing around 29 00:01:37,760 --> 00:01:42,399 Speaker 2: when ACC recognizes when you receive the injury. There's a 30 00:01:42,480 --> 00:01:45,680 Speaker 2: technical thing that's changing around the recognition of that. But 31 00:01:46,240 --> 00:01:49,280 Speaker 2: this is actually really really significant. So this particular court 32 00:01:49,360 --> 00:01:54,040 Speaker 2: ruling means that ACC will pay an extra about three 33 00:01:54,080 --> 00:01:58,040 Speaker 2: point five billion dollars to people who are currently injured 34 00:01:58,080 --> 00:02:02,120 Speaker 2: due to past trauma, past injuries into the future. So 35 00:02:03,160 --> 00:02:06,240 Speaker 2: you know that that is a really significant thing. Now. 36 00:02:06,280 --> 00:02:08,440 Speaker 2: I sat down today here with the CEO and the 37 00:02:08,480 --> 00:02:11,720 Speaker 2: DPCO at ACC for about a half an hour and nothing. 38 00:02:11,480 --> 00:02:12,240 Speaker 1: One of this out. 39 00:02:13,120 --> 00:02:15,480 Speaker 2: And the thing is that there are laws which ACC 40 00:02:15,560 --> 00:02:19,080 Speaker 2: operates under. But then, like everything, thing's got to court 41 00:02:19,080 --> 00:02:22,840 Speaker 2: and that tests the law, and this particular ruling really 42 00:02:24,480 --> 00:02:28,080 Speaker 2: seriously expands the scope of who could be eligible for 43 00:02:28,120 --> 00:02:31,160 Speaker 2: ACC cover. Now. It's so this particular thing around the 44 00:02:31,160 --> 00:02:34,000 Speaker 2: sexual offending is so major that ACC is actually still 45 00:02:34,240 --> 00:02:36,560 Speaker 2: working through the details of exactly how it's going to 46 00:02:36,639 --> 00:02:40,239 Speaker 2: deal with it and pay out billions of dollars more 47 00:02:40,240 --> 00:02:43,440 Speaker 2: to a whole bunch of people who weren't previously eligible. 48 00:02:44,120 --> 00:02:46,120 Speaker 1: So what can they do about it? I mean, I've 49 00:02:46,120 --> 00:02:48,320 Speaker 1: obviously got to if these people are now eligible, they're 50 00:02:48,320 --> 00:02:49,680 Speaker 1: going to have to cover the people. What can they 51 00:02:49,680 --> 00:02:51,160 Speaker 1: do to actually try to get the books back into 52 00:02:51,160 --> 00:02:51,440 Speaker 1: the black. 53 00:02:52,320 --> 00:02:55,080 Speaker 2: Well, this is where it gets rather nai for the government. 54 00:02:55,520 --> 00:03:00,880 Speaker 2: ACC has been proposing quite significant levy hikes, So that's 55 00:03:01,080 --> 00:03:03,360 Speaker 2: you know, levees that we all need to pay to 56 00:03:03,440 --> 00:03:05,800 Speaker 2: keep the system going. You know, that's to pay for 57 00:03:05,840 --> 00:03:08,079 Speaker 2: all the things we've just covered, also just general inflation. 58 00:03:08,960 --> 00:03:13,080 Speaker 2: The government, ACC's made recommendations, it's consulted on those levy hikes. 59 00:03:13,480 --> 00:03:16,440 Speaker 2: The difficult thing for the government is that, you know, 60 00:03:16,520 --> 00:03:19,040 Speaker 2: they're a government of low taxes, so it might be 61 00:03:19,080 --> 00:03:20,760 Speaker 2: a hard sale for the government to come to all 62 00:03:20,760 --> 00:03:23,440 Speaker 2: of us and say, hey, we're putting the ACC levees up. 63 00:03:23,720 --> 00:03:26,000 Speaker 2: But the other tricky thing for the government is that 64 00:03:26,040 --> 00:03:31,320 Speaker 2: it's also committed to reducing its deficit. So last week 65 00:03:31,360 --> 00:03:35,080 Speaker 2: we learned that the government's books are about twelve billion 66 00:03:35,120 --> 00:03:40,840 Speaker 2: dollars in deficit. Now ACC's deficit has contributed four billion 67 00:03:40,880 --> 00:03:44,240 Speaker 2: dollars to that deficit. So the worst ACC does, the 68 00:03:44,280 --> 00:03:46,920 Speaker 2: worse the government's books. Does you know in the government 69 00:03:47,000 --> 00:03:49,040 Speaker 2: saying we're going to get the books back in surplus. 70 00:03:49,320 --> 00:03:52,160 Speaker 2: A way to solve that is to increase these levees. 71 00:03:52,160 --> 00:03:54,120 Speaker 2: But the government has also that's also going to be 72 00:03:54,160 --> 00:03:57,240 Speaker 2: hard sale the population to the populace. So to me, 73 00:03:57,320 --> 00:03:59,440 Speaker 2: this really comes largely down to a number of things. 74 00:03:59,480 --> 00:04:02,360 Speaker 2: But you know, these issues in the health sector that 75 00:04:02,440 --> 00:04:05,120 Speaker 2: we're struggling with that are affecting sick people, injured people, 76 00:04:05,640 --> 00:04:08,120 Speaker 2: and now actually affecting the government's books as well. 77 00:04:08,240 --> 00:04:10,320 Speaker 1: Yeah, fascinating. Hey Jine, thanks for talking. Story to really 78 00:04:10,320 --> 00:04:13,200 Speaker 1: appreciate it is genetd trainee. The Heralds Wellington Business Edit 79 00:04:13,280 --> 00:04:16,960 Speaker 1: up for more from Heather Duplessy Allen Drive. Listen live 80 00:04:17,040 --> 00:04:19,919 Speaker 1: to news Talks the'd be from four pm weekdays, or 81 00:04:19,960 --> 00:04:22,040 Speaker 1: follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.