ACC march next week in Welly

What: ACC march and rally
When: 12noon - 2pm, Tuesday 16 February
Where: Parliament, Wellington

Spiel from the organisers:

One of the most infuriating actions of the Government during 2009 was its attack on New Zealand's priceless accident compensation scheme. A sustained campaign of misinformation and questionable accounting culminated in the ACC Bill which will pave the way for privatisation of the scheme. This will be the death knell for universal no-fault accident compensation. If the Government succeeds in destroying ACC it will be back to exorbitant private insurance and wasteful legal action.

Help put a stop to the destruction of one of New Zealand's most vital public assets by turning out at the rally at Parliament on 16 February. Unions, health practitioners, claimants' organisations and ordinary people will be out in force to show the Government that we are totally against the unjustified attack on ACC and the programme of unjust cuts to entitlements. And we will be joined once again by the bikers who took 9,000 people to Parliament in November. They are coming back because they know it's about more than just levies, and because nobody is fooled by the predictable ‘concession' of reducing the planned increase to motorbike charges.

This is the time to show the Government with a big turnout that New Zealand doesn't want to see ACC dismantled and sold off to Australian insurance companies. If you can't go yourself, get your family and friends to go along because the Government's cuts will affect them too. ACC is for all Kiwis. Let's keep it that way.

For more information on how the Government is trying to discredit and dismantle ACC go to fairness.org.nz/ACC .

One of the odious components of the changes so far has been the treatment of "sensitive" claims, i.e sexual abuse, rape, that kind of thing. We've written a fair bit about this in the past (you'll have to scroll down a little, for some reason the first few posts are totally not about ACC).

ACC is not just about people who have car accidents or get their necks badly crunched at rugby. It covers all sorts of accidents, including those that happen in the workplace and as a result of crimes. The system may not have been perfect as it was two years ago, but it was better than it is now, and far better than where it seems the Government wants to take it next. If you are in Wellington on the 16th, and able to attend, you'll be standing up for something important. Best wishes to the organisers for good weather and a big crowd.