Russell DeborahACCIDENT COMPENSATION (ACCESS REPORTING AND OTHER MATTERS) AMENDMENT BILLSecond ReadingHon Dr DEBORAH RUSSELL (Minister of Statistics) on behalf of the Minister for ACC: I present a legislative statement on the Accident Compensation (Access Reporting and Other Matters) Amendment Bill.DEPUTY SPEAKER: That legislative statement is published under the authority of the House and can be found on the Parliament website.Hon Dr DEBORAH RUSSELL: I move That the Accident Compensation (Access Reporting and Other Matters) Amendment Bill be now read a second time. I want first to acknowledge the Education and Workforce Committee which has reported back on the bill. The bill makes three changes to the Accident Compensation Act all broadly focused on improving equity of access to the accident compensation scheme.ACC is an integral part of our social support system in New Zealand and it has become part of the fabric of the country. However we know that access to the scheme is currently not the same for all New Zealanders. As Minister for ACC I want to ensure that ACC and the Government have high-quality data regarding access to the scheme by Māori and identified population groups. That includes injured people of those groups who have not yet made a claim to ACC. The bill helps us to do this.The bill delivers on two of our 2020 election manifesto commitments. The first: to return ACC to its original purpose of assisting all New Zealanders who have had an injury. The second: to address the changes that National made while last in office which unfairly disadvantaged tens of thousands of New Zealand workers. I thank the select committee for its diligent consideration of such an important piece of work.I also want to acknowledge everyone who has submitted on the bill during its select committee stage. I understand the committee considered submissions from many representatives and organisations. Their input has proven to be invaluable in this process. I am grateful for the thorough and careful consideration that the committee gave to the points submitters made.Some submitters were concerned that the wording of the bill did not appropriately acknowledge Māori as tangata whenua and as Te Tiriti o Waitangi partners to the Crown. This was because it referred to Māori and other population groups without acknowledging that status. This is why I'm pleased with the change the Education and Workforce Committee has made to the bill. This was to change wording requiring ACC to report on access to the accident compensation scheme by Māori and other population groups" to "Māori and identified population groups". It also changes associated wording to be consistent with the change. I am confident that the committee's change ensures that the bill now acknowledges Māori appropriately.The select committee process also thoroughly explored the idea of specifying population groups that are to be reported on. Access for Māori will be reported on every year but the identified population groups to be reported on by ACC are not specified in the bill. This process has given me confidence that the approach taken in the bill is the best one to ensure that the wording allows ACC flexibility to evolve its approach over time in response to the evidence while still having confidence that appropriate groups will be included in the reporting.I also want to acknowledge the differing views of ACT the Green Party and the National Party in the select committee's report. I understand that these concerns have been explored during the committee process. That said I look forward to having a robust debate of these differing views today and at the committee of the whole House stage of the bill.As has been said before this bill also addresses one of the changes National made while last in office which unfairly disadvantaged tens of thousands of New Zealand workers and returns ACC to its original purpose of assisting all New Zealanders who have had an injury.This bill is our commitment to gather high-quality data on how Māori and identified population groups are accessing the accident compensation scheme any disparities in access and the causes and drivers of any disparities. Putting the reporting requirement into legislation means it will endure across Governments and Ministers. It also allows for the creation of time series and clear visibility of trends given the extent of time for which data will be collected and reported.I look forward to seeing the outcomes of this work and to ACC and the Government having the data needed to understand the picture of what accessing accident compensation looks like for all New Zealanders. I intend the changes in this bill will be used as a basis for better understanding of and improvement of access for those not currently accessing the accident compensation scheme to ensure that all workers will be better supported by ACC. Thank you Mr Speaker. I commend this bill to the House.DEPUTY SPEAKER: The question is that the motion be agreed to."