MEDIA RELEASE

30 May 2011

Coalition to Picket ACC Announcement

The ACC Futures Coalition accounced that, together with the NZ Council of Trade Unions it would be organising a picket on Wednesday 1 June at 7am, outside a breakfast at Sky City in Auckland where ACC Minister Nick Smith will be announcing significant new changes to ACC.

“The government has been  saying that ACC is just another form of insurance”, says Hazel Armstrong, spokesperson of the ACC Futures Coalition, ”and  since 2008 have been introducing measures that take it further away from its original principles as an agency for social protection to one which has been operating much like a private insurance company. Many injured New Zealanders have felt the impact of that.”

“All of this is part of the preparation to hand ACC over to the Australian insurance companies who know that they can expect a $200million windall,” says Ms. Armstrong. “We expect the Minister will make announcements that confirm that they want privatise ACC. They just want to consult about the exact form of that privatisation.”

“We will be picketing outside Sky City to draw attention to the fact that one of the great institutions of our sytem of social protection is about to be destroyed,” says Ms. Armstrong. “The Minister needs to remember that ACC is ours – it was established by New Zealanders for the public good of New Zealanders under the control of New Zealanders as a public agency. It should not be handed over to private Australian insurers.”

ENDS

The picket will be held at Sky City Wed June 1st 7am to 9am, cnr Victoria and Federal Sts, Auckland City. Contact for information about the picket to Gabriel Brettkelly, CTU 021 661 348 and Tanja Bristow, ACC Futures Coalition 027 441 8293.  For queries about this press release contact Hazel Armstrong 027472 1793

10:29AM Tuesday, 31 May, 2011