ACC for criminal acts misguided

Removing ACC lump sums, income compensation and non-essential rehabilitation from those who commit crimes is common sense, ACC Minister Nick Smith says.

Dr Smith today outlined one of the changes in the ACC Reform Bill which disentitles criminals from receiving compensation for injuries received while committing crime.

“Labour shows how out of touch it is with ordinary New Zealanders paying ACC levies by insisting that criminals continue to receive accident compensation,” Dr Smith said. “In Labour’s Minority Report and in the committee stages in the house they argue strongly against criminal disentitlement.

“The Government’s changes would disentitle the likes of Graeme Burton who was injured after murdering Karl Kuchenbecker and then on his prosthetic leg funded by ACC attempted to again commit murder in prison. ACC has been too soft with such thugs.

“The current law requires an application to court and has a very high threshold for criminal disentitlement. It has not resulted in a single case in 10 years of anyone being disentitled. In the most recent case law a person imprisoned for dangerous driving was able to keep their full lump sum payment.

“This new provision automatically disentitles persons where the injury occurred when committing the crime, where the crime is punishable with a sentence of two years or more imprisonment and where the sentence was imprisonment or home detention. Such persons will automatically lose lump sum compensation, income compensation and any non-essential rehabilitation but will receive emergency and essential medical treatment.

“ACC is there for genuine accidents and as a substitute for losing the right to sue others at fault. Those who commit crimes only have themselves to blame and cannot expect compensation from the community.”

ENDS

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