6. Hon RUTH DYSON (Labour—Port Hills) to the Minister for ACC: Is he committed to making New Zealand’s accident compensation scheme fair?

Hon PANSY WONG (Acting Minister for ACC) : The no-fault accident compensation scheme was established to avoid lengthy litigation for injury claimants. I am committed to the scheme striking a fair balance between levy affordability and claimant entitlements. What is not fair is that Labour left the accident compensation scheme with net liabilities that soared by $4 billion to $12.7 billion, and claim costs have risen 57 percent in those 4 years.

Hon Ruth Dyson: How can it be fair that injured New Zealanders now wait 6 weeks for a decision from the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) about surgery, compared to 10 days last year, that 80 percent of people with shoulder injuries are being refused surgery, and that the decisions to decline surgery are made by people who are not clinicians and who quote from a 1937 textbook?

Hon PANSY WONG: The ACC operates under very strict regulations under the legislation. There are protocols for assessments for acceptance of coverage. If the member had any specific evidence, she would have written to me, and she has not.

Hon Ruth Dyson: Is it fair that the ACC is putting levies up and turning down legitimate claims so that people are paying more and getting less, and so that orthopaedic surgeons are being forced to spend their time writing appeal letters to the ACC instead of operating on their injured patients?

Hon PANSY WONG: The accident compensation scheme has a process for assessing entitlement and coverage and also an appeal process. Once again, if the member had specific evidence for so-called wrong decisions, she should have written to me, but she has not.

Hon Ruth Dyson: I seek leave to table a letter from Dr Josie Sinclair, an orthopaedic surgeon, outlining the very points I made during my questions.

Mr SPEAKER: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? There is no objection.

• Document, by leave, laid on the Table of the House.

Darien Fenton: How can it be fair that in the last 9 months alone, 8,454 injured Kiwis have had accident compensation - funded surgery declined—people such as Pauline Grogan from the North Shore, who was just one of the many affected by the huge jump in injured people being declined and being left unable to get back to work and full productivity?

Hon PANSY WONG: The accident compensation scheme operates under the Injury Prevention, Rehabilitation, and Compensation Act 2001, and there are strict protocols and dispute resolution procedures. Claimants have many processes that they can go through to seek the appeal of decisions.

Darien Fenton: I seek leave to table a letter from Pauline Grogan of the North Shore to ACC outlining her struggle to get treatment for her injury.

Mr SPEAKER: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? There is no objection.

• Document, by leave, laid on the Table of the House.