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ACC Minister Nikki Kaye today announced the appointment of Rachel Farrant to the board of Crown company Fairway Resolution Ltd, effective from 1 September 2016.

“Ms Farrant is a Wellington-based chartered accountant and a partner at accounting and business advisory network BDO, where she holds the role of HR Director,” says Ms Kaye.

“She has specific experience in audit and business advisory services, working with a wide range of clients in the retail, professional services, not-for-profit and government sectors.

ACC Minister Nikki Kaye today announced that Joanne (Jo) Buckner has been appointed to the Motorcycle Safety Advisory Council (MSAC).

The council represents the motorcycling community and advises ACC on safety initiatives that will make motorcycling safer on New Zealand roads

“Jo brings a strong background of leadership and advisory experience to the Council, along with a passion for motorcyclists’ safety,” says Ms Kaye.

“As well as being a keen motorcyclist herself, Jo has in-depth involvement with the motorcycling community.

A national registry which goes live today will lead to better services and better care and support for people living with a spinal cord impairment, say Health Minister Jonathan Coleman and ACC Minister Nikki Kaye.

“This registry will collect and record a wide range of information about people throughout their lifetime, from the moment they’re affected by a spinal cord impairment,” says Dr Coleman.

Health Minister Dr Jonathan Coleman and ACC Minister Nikki Kaye have welcomed ACC’s involvement with a pilot that’s trialling the provision of digitally-based medical support for Northland children and their whanau.

“We want to see more patient-centred healthcare, and better use of current and emerging technology to help patients manage their own health,” says Dr Coleman.

An investment of $30.5 million over four years by ACC, to support new and existing initiatives aimed at preventing falls and resulting injuries, has been welcomed by ACC Minister Nikki Kaye and Minister for Seniors Maggie Barry.

Both Ministers visited Auckland Hospital this morning to celebrate the investment and visit an older persons’ health ward.

ACC Minister Nikki Kaye has welcomed a new, ongoing partnership between ACC and Plunket aimed at helping to reduce the number of injuries to children aged under five years.

“ACC will invest $2.3 million over five years to support Plunket to further develop their injury prevention capabilities, and deliver education and initiatives to support parents to reduce the number and severity of injuries to young children,” says Ms Kaye.

Each year, more than 110,000 children aged under five years are injured at home and in the wider community.

ACC Minister Nikki Kaye today confirmed the new ACC annual licence levies that owners of light vehicles (cars, vans, utes and SUVs) will pay from 1 July 2016, as well as refinements to the vehicle risk rating system used to calculate these levies.

The ACC annual licence levy is part of the vehicle licensing (‘rego’) fee paid when you register or relicense a vehicle.

“From 1 July, the average motor vehicle levy, which includes the annual licence levy and petrol levy, will reduce from around $195 to around $130 per vehicle,” says Ms Kaye.

ACC Minister Nikki Kaye today confirmed the Government’s new funding policy for ACC, and announced that ACC levies will now be set every two years, rather than annually.

The funding policy is the latest in a number of improvements implemented as part of the Accident Compensation (Financial Responsibility and Transparency) Amendment Act, which came into force in September 2015.

ACC Minister Nikki Kaye today announced three reappointments to the Motorcycle Safety Advisory Council (MSAC).

The council represents the motorcycling community and advises ACC on safety initiatives that will make motorcycling safer on New Zealand roads

“The reappointed councillors, Janice Millman, Andrew Darrell and David Golightly, collectively bring strong management and governance expertise, combined with deep personal involvement in motorcycling and the motorcycling community,” says Ms Kaye.

ACC Minister Nikki Kaye has welcomed the results of a Research New Zealand survey which shows that public trust and confidence in ACC has reached a new high.

“The survey shows that 61 per cent of New Zealanders surveyed in the 12 months to March 2016 have full trust and confidence in ACC, up from 56 per cent in the previous 12 months, and the result for the last quarter is 64 per cent, which is the highest result since the survey began in 2004,” says Ms Kaye.

As broadcast sponsor of TVNZ’s live, free-to-air coverage of the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, ACC will help inspire all Kiwis, including those living with a disability and those recovering from a serious accident, says ACC Minister Nikki Kaye.

TVNZ and Attitude Pictures today announced plans for more than 180 hours of dedicated Games coverage, made possible by support from ACC and NZ On Air.

“The achievements of New Zealand’s Paralympians have made a major contribution to changing public perceptions of disability,” says Ms Kaye.

Teaching Kiwi kids how to prevent injuries and ensuring they have the skills and confidence to take action in an emergency are the goals of the St John in Schools programme, officially launched today by ACC Minister Nikki Kaye at Clendon Park School in South Auckland.

“ACC has invested $1.15 million to support this programme and help it reach almost 500,000 children over five years,” says Ms Kaye.

The programme provides learning experiences for pre-school through to intermediate school aged children.

ACC Minister Nikki Kaye will travel to Canada this evening for two days’ of portfolio-related meetings and discussions in Toronto and Vancouver.

“A key aim of this trip is to identify learnings that could be applied to ACC as it enters a significant chapter in its 42-year history. I will also have meetings related to my other portfolios of Civil Defence and Youth, and in my capacity as Associate Minister of Education,” says Ms Kaye.

Improved services for businesses will be a key focus of the first stage of the ACC transformation programme announced today, says ACC Minister Nikki Kaye.

“ACC has come a long way since 2008/09 when it posted a yearly deficit of $4.8 billion. Since then, the scheme’s assets have grown from $10 billion to $33 billion, thanks to its world class investment team, which has consistently exceeded market benchmarks,” says Ms Kaye.

ACC Minister Nikki Kaye has welcomed ACC’s announcement today that work is underway rolling out customer services initiatives, following approval of an updated business case on ACC’s $450 million transformation programme.

“ACC’s Board presented its final business case for the programme last year and I took a paper on this through Cabinet,” says Ms Kaye.

“With a programme of this scale and complexity, it was important for Cabinet to have oversight of it.

Sport and Recreation Minister Jonathan Coleman and ACC Minister Nikki Kaye welcome Water Safety New Zealand’s campaign launch of ‘Stop and think before you go near the water’, which is supported by ACC.

“On average 103 people die in New Zealand waters each year. Water Safety New Zealand’s campaign reminds people to reflect on whether it really is safe to enter the water,” says Dr Coleman.

The Government is working to gain a full understanding of treatment injury to inform a range of initiatives to reduce treatment injury rates, say Minister of Health Jonathan Coleman and Minister for ACC Nikki Kaye.

“ACC’s treatment injury liability account is subject to a rising number of claims. It’s important from a clinical and financial point of view to understand why this is happening,” says Dr Coleman.

ACC Minister Nikki Kaye today announced the reappointment of James Miller as a member of the Accident Compensation Corporation Board. 

“I’m pleased to announce that James Miller has been reappointed for a three-year term,” says Ms Kaye.

James has extensive experience in financial markets, investment management and commercial governance. He sits on ACC’s investment subcommittee and is Chair of the Shaping Our Future subcommittee.   

ACC Minister Nikki Kaye today confirmed the Government has agreed to $450 million of ACC levy reductions consulted on and recommended by the ACC Board for the 2016/17 year.

“These levy reductions apply across motor vehicle, work and earners’ levies,” says Ms Kaye.

“There will be a 33 per cent reduction to the average motor vehicle levy, comprising the petrol levy and annual licence levy, from an average of $194.25 currently, to $130.26 per vehicle.

ACC Minister Nikki Kaye today announced the release of a discussion paper on the proposed Accident Compensation Appeal Tribunal.

“After listening to stakeholders’ concerns, the Government agreed in June 2015 to review the decision to establish a stand-alone tribunal. This was to take into account work ACC has been doing to resolve accident compensation disputes early on, to consider different options for dealing with accident compensation appeals, and to allow for targeted consultation with key stakeholders,” says Ms Kaye.

ACC Minister Nikki Kaye and Disability Issues Minister Nicky Wagner have congratulated the winners of last night’s Attitude Awards, which recognise exceptional contributions made by New Zealanders who live with disabilities.

“ACC is the principal sponsor of the Attitude Awards, which promote positive role models and celebrate people living with a disability who are achieving great things,” Ms Kaye says.

ACC Minister Nikki Kaye has confirmed that Cabinet has signed off a law change that will help some superannuitants better cope with the accidental death of their spouse or partner.

“Under the current law, ACC weekly compensation paid to the spouse of someone who is fatally injured is generally available for five years,” says Ms Kaye.

“However, a clause in ACC’s governing Act requires superannuitants, after receiving both NZ Super and weekly compensation for a year, to choose between receiving either NZ Super or weekly compensation.

Shifting ACC to a greater focus on injury prevention

Introduction

Good morning. It’s great to be here today, with so many of you who have been contributing over a long period of time to ensure fewer New Zealanders lose their lives or are seriously injured in accidents.

We all know the impact on someone’s life from injury, and the importance of doing everything we can across government to ensure the investments and people are in place to prevent as many injuries as possible.

ACC Minister Nikki Kaye says a new Safekids Aotearoa campaign supported by ACC will help reduce New Zealand’s high rate of children’s driveway deaths and injuries.

“On average, five children are killed every year and every fortnight a child is hospitalised with a significant injury after being hit by a vehicle on a private driveway,” says Ms Kaye.

“In total, ACC receives around 120 claims a year for driveway injuries to children.