Wednesday, July 02, 2008



National admits it

In the face of damaging leaks from the insurance industry, National has finally come clean and admitted it: if elected, they will privatise ACC again. Not by selling it, but by removing the ACC's statutory monopoly, a monopoly which has protected New Zealanders for over thirty years. The benefit to the insurance industry? $2.1 billion of new business, and $200 million in profit. The benefit to the New Zealand people? Higher premiums, worse coverage, and the erosion of entitlements. It's clear then who John Key and the National Party are working for - and it isn't us.

Another thing we should keep in mind is that Key only admitted this policy because he was forced to. If the insurance industry hadn't been so open in its gloating, he would have kept it secret right up until the election, then sprung it on us after the fact. That's dishonest and undemocratic. But then, this is the party which gave us the "moral obligation to lie"...