Latest / Early Edition with Ryan Bridge / Scott Simpson: ACC Minister on the insurer's growing deficit

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Scott Simpson: ACC Minister on the insurer's growing deficit · Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: What are we going to do In the meantime with ACC,
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: they've reported yet another deficit one and a half billion
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: for the past financial year. This takes the struggling agency
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: nearly fourteen billion in the red. Scot Simpson is the
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: ACC Minister, live this morning. Scott, good morning, Good morning.
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: Ryan Sons, the Finance Minister, says, this is underperforming. You
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: obviously agree with that. I know you've got to turn around. Plan.
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: When does that see us getting out of deficit?
• 0:24
  Speaker 2: Well, not immediately, so some years away. But the good
• 0:30
  Speaker 2: news Ryan is even though this one point five billion
• 0:33
  Speaker 2: dollar deficit over the last twelve months is a big number,
• 0:37
  Speaker 2: it's an awful lot better than the seven point two
• 0:40
  Speaker 2: billion deficit the previous year. So some good work has
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: already commenced at ACC in terms of getting the entity
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: back on track. But there's a lot of work yet
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: to do, and most of that reflected in actually just
• 0:55
  Speaker 2: doing the basic stuff really well, doing it consistently, and
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: doing it over and over again on behalf of New
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: Zealanders who need to get rehabilitated and back to independence
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: much faster.
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: You're looking at cutting the ability of some claims like
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: mental health claims apparently. Can you give us an example
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: of what exactly that would mean or change potentially.
• 1:15
  Speaker 2: No, I'm not considering that at all. That's not correct
• 1:18
  Speaker 2: at all. I want to have happened is for the
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: ACC scheme and the good people who are making sometimes
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: difficult decisions every day on behalf of the scheme and
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: all New Zealanders. I want them to get back to
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: doing the basic stuff really well, to focus on their
• 1:36
  Speaker 2: core business, which is ensuring that New Zealanders when they
• 1:40
  Speaker 2: do have an accident are rehabilitated and getting back to
• 1:43
  Speaker 2: being fully participating members of society.
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: So no claims that absolutely nothing changing with claims because
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: you're reported this is from stuff he had. This is
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: you previously questioned where the ACC might need to offload
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: responsibility for some mental health claims to a different agency
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: to ensure the en parent scheme is sustainable.
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: Look, that was a comment that I made some time ago.
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: But as I say, now into the role far more
• 2:11
  Speaker 2: closely than I was when I made those statements. I'm
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: very happy that ACC is focused on the work that's done.
• 2:17
  Speaker 2: We've got a new chair, just appointed a new chair,
• 2:20
  Speaker 2: Jan Dawson. I'll be working very closely and we won't.
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: Cut There'll be no change to claims, no criteria will change.
• 2:29
  Speaker 2: Look, the ACC legislation is there for a purpose. It
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: has boundaries, it has rules, and ACC personnel work within
• 2:37
  Speaker 2: those all day, every day to ensure that will change,
• 2:40
  Speaker 2: forming better. I'm not planning any changes in that regard.
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: All right, very good, So a couple of years we'll
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: be back in La you reckon.
• 2:48
  Speaker 2: Well, we've got a lot of work to do. But
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: that will mean that there needs to be a focus
• 2:53
  Speaker 2: on doing the core basic work of ACC well regularly
• 2:57
  Speaker 2: and consistently, just.
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: On that working from home. I was shocked to see
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: a couple of weeks ago that they're still working from home,
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: a lot of staff only coming into the office two
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: days a week. I think now they've agreed, begrudgingly to
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: come in three days a week. What's going on here?
• 3:15
  Speaker 2: Well, though, that is one part of what will need
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: to be a turnaround. I mean, ACC staff have had
• 3:22
  Speaker 2: some very generous working from home arrangements, and I was
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: pleased to see that the Chief Executive, Megan Maine, has
• 3:29
  Speaker 2: decided to bring them back for at least three days.
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: A week, three days.
• 3:35
  Speaker 2: I think there's still more work yet, to be done
• 3:37
  Speaker 2: on that one.
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: Right, people will be looking at this and looking at
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: the size of this deficit and the hours worked in
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: the office and bethinking, hmm, get you. I mean when
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: you guys said it was a year ago you see
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: to get back to the.
• 3:50
  Speaker 2: Office, was it exactly? So? As I say, there's still
• 3:53
  Speaker 2: a lot of work yet to be done at ACC.
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: Okay, I to appreciate your time, Scott Simpson, who's minister
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: responsible for that. Lock for more from Early Edition with
• 4:04
  Speaker 1: Ryan Bridge.
• 4:04
  Speaker 2: Listen live to News Talks It be from five am weekdays,
• 4:08
  Speaker 2: or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.