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Speaker 1: What are we going to do In the meantime with ACC,

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Speaker 1: they've reported yet another deficit one and a half billion

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Speaker 1: for the past financial year. This takes the struggling agency

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Speaker 1: nearly fourteen billion in the red. Scot Simpson is the

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Speaker 1: ACC Minister, live this morning. Scott, good morning, Good morning.

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Speaker 1: Ryan Sons, the Finance Minister, says, this is underperforming. You

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Speaker 1: obviously agree with that. I know you've got to turn around. Plan.

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Speaker 1: When does that see us getting out of deficit?

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Speaker 2: Well, not immediately, so some years away. But the good

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Speaker 2: news Ryan is even though this one point five billion

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Speaker 2: dollar deficit over the last twelve months is a big number,

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Speaker 2: it's an awful lot better than the seven point two

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Speaker 2: billion deficit the previous year. So some good work has

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Speaker 2: already commenced at ACC in terms of getting the entity

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Speaker 2: back on track. But there's a lot of work yet

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Speaker 2: to do, and most of that reflected in actually just

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Speaker 2: doing the basic stuff really well, doing it consistently, and

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Speaker 2: doing it over and over again on behalf of New

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Speaker 2: Zealanders who need to get rehabilitated and back to independence

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Speaker 2: much faster.

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Speaker 1: You're looking at cutting the ability of some claims like

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Speaker 1: mental health claims apparently. Can you give us an example

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Speaker 1: of what exactly that would mean or change potentially.

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Speaker 2: No, I'm not considering that at all. That's not correct

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Speaker 2: at all. I want to have happened is for the

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Speaker 2: ACC scheme and the good people who are making sometimes

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Speaker 2: difficult decisions every day on behalf of the scheme and

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Speaker 2: all New Zealanders. I want them to get back to

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Speaker 2: doing the basic stuff really well, to focus on their

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Speaker 2: core business, which is ensuring that New Zealanders when they

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Speaker 2: do have an accident are rehabilitated and getting back to

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Speaker 2: being fully participating members of society.

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Speaker 1: So no claims that absolutely nothing changing with claims because

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Speaker 1: you're reported this is from stuff he had. This is

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Speaker 1: you previously questioned where the ACC might need to offload

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Speaker 1: responsibility for some mental health claims to a different agency

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Speaker 1: to ensure the en parent scheme is sustainable.

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Speaker 2: Look, that was a comment that I made some time ago.

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Speaker 2: But as I say, now into the role far more

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Speaker 2: closely than I was when I made those statements. I'm

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Speaker 2: very happy that ACC is focused on the work that's done.

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Speaker 2: We've got a new chair, just appointed a new chair,

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Speaker 2: Jan Dawson. I'll be working very closely and we won't.

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Speaker 1: Cut There'll be no change to claims, no criteria will change.

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Speaker 2: Look, the ACC legislation is there for a purpose. It

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Speaker 2: has boundaries, it has rules, and ACC personnel work within

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Speaker 2: those all day, every day to ensure that will change,

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Speaker 2: forming better. I'm not planning any changes in that regard.

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Speaker 1: All right, very good, So a couple of years we'll

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Speaker 1: be back in La you reckon.

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Speaker 2: Well, we've got a lot of work to do. But

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Speaker 2: that will mean that there needs to be a focus

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Speaker 2: on doing the core basic work of ACC well regularly

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Speaker 2: and consistently, just.

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Speaker 1: On that working from home. I was shocked to see

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Speaker 1: a couple of weeks ago that they're still working from home,

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Speaker 1: a lot of staff only coming into the office two

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Speaker 1: days a week. I think now they've agreed, begrudgingly to

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Speaker 1: come in three days a week. What's going on here?

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Speaker 2: Well, though, that is one part of what will need

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Speaker 2: to be a turnaround. I mean, ACC staff have had

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Speaker 2: some very generous working from home arrangements, and I was

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Speaker 2: pleased to see that the Chief Executive, Megan Maine, has

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Speaker 2: decided to bring them back for at least three days.

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Speaker 1: A week, three days.

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Speaker 2: I think there's still more work yet, to be done

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Speaker 2: on that one.

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Speaker 1: Right, people will be looking at this and looking at

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Speaker 1: the size of this deficit and the hours worked in

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Speaker 1: the office and bethinking, hmm, get you. I mean when

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Speaker 1: you guys said it was a year ago you see

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Speaker 1: to get back to the.

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Speaker 2: Office, was it exactly? So? As I say, there's still

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Speaker 2: a lot of work yet to be done at ACC.

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Speaker 1: Okay, I to appreciate your time, Scott Simpson, who's minister

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Speaker 1: responsible for that. Lock for more from Early Edition with

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Speaker 1: Ryan Bridge.

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Speaker 2: Listen live to News Talks It be from five am weekdays,

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Speaker 2: or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.