ISSUE
Friday, August 22, 2025
Volume 16 . Issue 73
Kiwi motorists should have been paying less to register their cars long before now, Labour’s ACC spokesperson Iain Lees-Galloway says.
ACC has just announced it plans to cut levies – including vehicle levies - from next year.
“Paula Rebstock can make out she’s delivering New Zealanders some sort of pre-Christmas bonus, but she’s not fooling anyone.
“ACC charges have been unacceptably high since National created a phony crisis and imposed massive hikes, the result of which was a $4.9 billion surplus last year.
“That surplus came out of the pockets of New Zealanders.
“National deliberately pushed ACC levies up to support its privatisation agenda. As Judith Collins has now accepted, there is no way insurance companies could compete with ACC while levies were set at a fair rate.
“Since National appears to have backed away from privatising ACC for now, there is no need for them to keep levies artificially high.
“National has also driven a programme of cost cutting by denying treatment, cutting back on rehabilitation and home support and reducing access to compensation. While there is room for levies to come down, ACC should also be focussed on making sure claimants get fair treatment.
“The idea of imposing lower levies for safer vehicles has merit. However Labour is concerned that people on low incomes who cannot afford the newest cars will be penalised by the proposed regime. The way to improve the safety of our vehicle fleet is to make sure people have enough money to buy safe cars, not by penalising them for being poor.
“Labour is committed to making ACC fair for everyone. New Zealanders should be paying fair levies and should expect fair treatment when they make a claim with ACC.”
Kiwi motorists should have been paying less to register their cars long before now, Labour’s ACC spokesperson Iain Lees-Galloway says. ACC has just announced it plans to cut levies – including vehicle levies - from next year. “Paula Rebstock can make out she’s delivering New Zealanders some sort...
Kiwi motorists should have been paying less to register their cars long before now, Labour’s ACC spokesperson Iain Lees-Galloway says.
ACC has just announced it plans to cut levies – including vehicle levies - from next year.
“Paula Rebstock can make out she’s delivering New Zealanders some sort of pre-Christmas bonus, but she’s not fooling anyone.
“ACC charges have been unacceptably high since National created a phony crisis and imposed massive hikes, the result of which was a $4.9 billion surplus last year.
“That surplus came out of the pockets of New Zealanders.
“National deliberately pushed ACC levies up to support its privatisation agenda. As Judith Collins has now accepted, there is no way insurance companies could compete with ACC while levies were set at a fair rate.
“Since National appears to have backed away from privatising ACC for now, there is no need for them to keep levies artificially high.
“National has also driven a programme of cost cutting by denying treatment, cutting back on rehabilitation and home support and reducing access to compensation. While there is room for levies to come down, ACC should also be focussed on making sure claimants get fair treatment.
“The idea of imposing lower levies for safer vehicles has merit. However Labour is concerned that people on low incomes who cannot afford the newest cars will be penalised by the proposed regime. The way to improve the safety of our vehicle fleet is to make sure people have enough money to buy safe cars, not by penalising them for being poor.
“Labour is committed to making ACC fair for everyone. New Zealanders should be paying fair levies and should expect fair treatment when they make a claim with ACC.”
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