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Labour scathing of Rebstock's ACC job

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Labour scathing of Rebstock's ACC job

3News NZ

ACC Minister Judith Collins announced on Tuesday that Paula Rebstock will chair ACC (file)

ACC Minister Judith Collins announced on Tuesday that Paula Rebstock will chair ACC (file)

Opposition parties are split over new appointments to the ACC board, with Labour raising concerns about the woman who will chair the organisation.

ACC Minister Judith Collins announced on Tuesday that Paula Rebstock will take up the role for a three-year term.

Ms Rebstock, who is an existing ACC board member, also chairs Work and Income, chairs the Insurance and Savings Ombudsman Commission, and is deputy chairwoman of the New Zealand Railways Corporation.

She has been ACC's acting chairwoman since June, replacing chairman John Judge after a major privacy breach, when ACC claimant Bronwyn Pullar was sent details of more than 6000 other clients.

Labour's ACC spokesman Andrew Little is alarmed at Ms Rebstock's appointment, calling it "a sharp lurch to the right and a deepening of the disentitlement culture".

"Paula Rebstock's track record demonstrates no empathy or understanding of the social insurance model ACC represents," he said.

Ms Rebstock headed the Government's Welfare Working Group and now the group overseeing the Government's welfare reforms, and is tasked with finding the source of leaks about the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade restructuring.

Mr Little also has concerns about newly appointed board member, Auckland University's associate dean of the faculty of medical health and sciences Professor Des Gorman, who has been a senior medical adviser to ACC for many years.

"[He] has given some of the most retrograde advice on claimants' files I've known. He was the subject of many complaints over his advice about occupational overuse syndrome in the 1990s," Mr Little said.

"These appointments inspire no confidence at all and claimants are entitled to feel uneasy."

The Green Party's Kevin Hague is more optimistic, saying the appointments are an opportunity to steer the corporation back towards the role and principles it was founded on.

"Ordinary New Zealanders don't like the profit-driven, privacy-abandoning organisation that ACC has become.

"Ms Rebstock has a huge responsibility to turn the ACC ship around."

The appointments - that also include Public Trust chairman Trevor Janes and public and medical law expert Kristy McDonald QC - follow the resignations of three board members, and chief executive Ralph Stewart, amidst the privacy scandal.

NZN

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Comments

6/09/2012 10:44:45 a.m.

David wrote:

Rob needs to get his fatcs straight, ACC already dont pay out on valid medical conditions that have no cure and no treatment. If you have an injury that ACC cant fix or help with but will retain it permanently they will throw you off ACC. Dysautonomia is a valid medical condition caused by traumatic injury... it has very little treatment options... and it has absolutely no cure. It is recognised in every other country in the world except New Zealand. Because it limits ACC's financial liability. SO we are ignoring valid medical conditions that can be life altering and devastating... to save money and these people get no help from ACC. There are many other conditions that are much the same... where ACC will force you out of their system unfairly. As their directive isnt to compensate people for permanent injuries sustained from serious accidents.

5/09/2012 2:28:30 p.m.

Rob wrote:

Andrew Little needs to get his facts straight about Prof. Gorman's advice on OOS. He correctly advised that if a claimant rests the injury (e.g tendonitis)it will get better. What he resisted was that OOS gave the claimant a meal ticket thereafter due to "pain". Funny isn't it; remove the compensation and the pain goes away? Mr Little also needs to concede that about 60 specialist medical practitioners all signed a consensus statement agreeing with Gorman's "advice".

4/09/2012 5:39:38 p.m.

jt wrote:

ACC claimants need some good news, not another hatchet person.

4/09/2012 5:39:26 p.m.

Suzie wrote:

The appointment of Rebstock and Gorman are a slap in the face to entitled claimants.

4/09/2012 3:40:51 p.m.

john wrote:

Another kick in the guts for ACC claimants. This govt loves kicking people when they are down. All Paula Rebstock is lacking is a pair of jackboots.

4/09/2012 3:32:33 p.m.

Greg wrote:

Turning around to what, ACC failed me in 2003. ACC will still be culling the too hard to rehabilitate clients onto winz waiting lists. Will former head injury clients get any treatment if their still not working, or compensation for neglect of due process.
Get your own insurance.

4/09/2012 2:56:30 p.m.

margret wrote:

labour need to elect david cunlife as leader and as soon as possible . because their current leader hes likable nice guy but hes invisible and weak as cats urine .key needs some one with a lange fighter inside him , some one who is not scared of key or the media and will expose key for just what he is .going by unemployment key is the key to mass unemployment for a start .

4/09/2012 2:47:17 p.m.

David wrote:

Acc was initially setup because of the corruption from private insurance providers like Rebstock. You cant expect better or fairer treatment for ACC under her guidance... but because she is from the private sector you can expect that she will have better processes for hiding ACC's errors (not necessarily fixing them). Rebstock's appointment flis in the face of the founding prinicpals of ACC which was to combat the crorruption of private insurers like her who spent most of their time litigating claimants to their death beds. This is a nasty move by the National party and will not improve things at ACC at all.