KEY POINTS:
A man whose left ear was bitten off by a police dog is to have it reconstructed, at the expense of ACC.
The surgery, a rare and complex series of operations, will probably cost about $20,000.
Casey Voges, 29, conceded in a Sunday newspaper that it was probably unfair that the taxpayer would be paying for his surgery but he believed the dog attack was an assault and warranted compensation.
Voges is in Auckland Central Remand Prison facing 10 charges of burglary, one of theft and another of unlawful access to an enclosed yard.
The newspaper said Voges had spent 12 years of his life behind bars in Australia and New Zealand for burglary and drug use but now he says he wants to turn around his life.
And to help he needs the new ear -- his was bitten off by a police dog during an arrest in February 2005.
Police said though Voges was unarmed he resisted arrest and the dog attacked instinctively.
ACC spokesman Laurie Edwards said the corporation can apply to courts to decline an application where the injury was sustained in a crime and it would be repugnant to the public.
While the procedure could be described as cosmetic, Edwards said, it may also improve Voges' hearing by better channelling sounds.
He said while prisoners were entitled to ACC-funded medical treatment, they were not eligible for financial compensation.
The National Party has expressed its disbelief at the notion that ACC could fund this "cosmetic" job.
National's ACC spokeswoman Nancy Wong said it is a disgrace. She said she regularly receives calls from disgruntled people who are not getting surgery because ACC will not pay for it.
Pansy Wong said the decision does nothing to help ACC's image.
- NZPA, NEWSTALK ZB
