Bennett David: Injury Prevention Rehabilitation and Compensation Amendment Bill — In Committee 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Bennett David: Injury Prevention Rehabilitation and Compensation Amendment Bill — In Committee 
[Sitting date: 27 February 2007. Volume:637;Page:7691. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
DAVID BENNETT (National—Hamilton East) 
: 
 I say in relation to the speech from that last member whose implications were most dishonest and untrue that this legislation is a scam for New Zealand business a scam for employers and a scam for the self-employed. Let us look at the average rates. The average rate for employers is about 86c; the average rate for self-employed people is $2.03. Those are the average rates. There is a difference between the rates for employers and the self-employed. There is a big difference; it a real difference. 
The Government has put this bill together for one reason: so that it can hoodwink employers during the next election campaign. It is using this bill as a bribe so that it can go into the next campaign saying that it has reduced Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) levy payments for employers and in some cases for the self-employed as well. That is all the Government is up to. This bill has nothing to do with being good for business and it is not about reforming the ACC; it is here so that the Government can go into the election saying that it has done this for business and for self-employed people. Should we expect that from this Government? Yes. It has stolen from us once in order to win an election; it will steal from the levy reserves of employers and the self-employed in order to try to win another. But it will not work this time. Labour can steal but it will not win the election. 
This is another such case and the Minister for ACC Ruth Dyson has admitted to that in relation to the reserves. The Minister said in the second reading debate that if as some had requested all the excess reserves in the employers’ account were refunded to levy payers in 1 year then employers would experience significant increases in levy rates in years to come which would defeat the object of levy stability. The objective of levy stability is to get this Government through these 2 years—through another election campaign. Then it will rack up those rates. That is what the Minister was saying. She admitted that is what the Government intends to do. If people do not agree that is the case they should look at the numbers. 
Let us look at the numbers that have been presented. For example the levy in relation to shearing will go from $3.79 before the merger to $4.18 after the merger has gone through and all the rebates have been given out. That means that in 2 years’ time once all the rebates have been given out shearing employers will have to pay $4.18 when they pay $3.79 now. That is an increase. Let us look at the rate for ocean and coastal fishing which will go from $2.43 to $4.31. It will increase under this Government in 2 years’ time. After the election employers will have to pay the real rate that this Government wants them to pay. Here is another one: the rate in relation to timber dressing and wholesaling will increase from $1.13 to $2.74. That is a huge increase—more than double in 2 years—just so this Government can win an election. Let us keep going. Here is another one: the rate in relation to non-metallic minerals will rise from $1.58 to $1.74. Those increases in cost will all occur under this legislation. 
There is a provision in the legislation that states that levies cannot increase by more than 25 percent for a business in 1 year. Well that sounds all right but what kind of business would want to experience a 25 percent increase anyway year on year? None. The Government says that 8 percent of employers will have a levy increase of between 5 and 45 percent. A levy increase of 45 percent is huge and it is not being done in the best interests of New Zealand business. All of this is so that Labour can go into an election campaign saying that it has kept the levies down for employers—and then a year later it will whack them up again. At that point the reserves will be exhausted and employers will have to face the huge levy increases that this Government proposes. It is not only employers but some self-employed people as well who will have big levy increases with 17 to 20 percent increases in some cases. This is unfair legislation. It will increase the employer rates and the self-employed rates in some cases. For example the sports levy will increase by 17 percent the equestrian rate will go from $4.83 to $5.65 and the rugby league rate will go from 75c to $1.01. 
What then can we do about this legislation? New Zealand First correctly stated that after privatisation there was a 6-month trial period for the new legislation that National tried. New Zealand First said that legislation had worked better than anyone had expected and it did not want to change it. It wanted that trial to continue. Rodney Hide said that this Government has failed because it has stayed with its ideological position. It has not actually looked at what is good for the ACC or for employers or the self-employed. It has looked just at establishing what is a State-run monopoly for Labour and its supporters the unions. That is all this legislation is. It is a payback for the unions and it is another bribe going into an election year from this Government. 
This legislation was put through in an unusually short period of time. The reason is that when Labour goes into the next election campaign this legislation will be all up and running. The timing has nothing to do with consultation. This legislation is being passed so that next year Labour will go into the election campaign saying that it has reduced levies. This cynical Government is trying to use people’s own money for its own purposes; it has been proven to do that. It is a Government that once again is proving what it wants to use the ACC levy for. The ACC is just another cash cow for this Government to use to try to win an election. Shame on this Government!