Has ACC become sociopathic? The latest revelations about financial incentives for ACC staff who push accident victims off the books could be perceived as being part of a sociopathic - or at least bureaupathic - culture within the government agency. Green MP Kevin Hague has revealed that case managers are paid a bonus for removing long term claimants and says 'This sort of scheme is symptomatic of a sick culture within ACC' - see Adam Bennett's ACC bonus pay for claimant cull. ACC argues that getting clients back to work is the focus, but the obvious next question is: how many of those 'culled' haven't actually increased their work hours but have just been pushed on to a benefit or lost income? For the strongest critique of the ACC policy, read Gordon Campbell's Scoop article On the incentive payments at ACC. Gordon Campbell argues the policy is 'not just corrupt, it's insulting'.
The 'sociopathic' label has been applied by Labour's ACC spokesperson Andrew Little to the Minister of ACC, Judith Collins: 'Her conduct is the conduct of a sociopath, Ms Tolley. Maurice Williamson understands that, because he has worked with too many of them for too long. He knows sociopathic conduct when he sees it' - see Andrea Vance's Little always wrong on ACC claims - Collins. Rightwing blogger David Farrar says 'David Shearer is a decent man. I am sure he does not condone his spokespersons calling Ministers of the Crown sociopaths' (The hatred and bile from Labour), and Cameron Slater who delves into definitions of 'sociopathic', concludes that 'Based on the evidence it appears that Andrew Little was in fact talking about Trevor Mallard' (So who is the sociopath?). The response from Collins herself about Little's allegations that she ordered ACC to go after Michelle Boag and Bronwyn Pullar have been more restrained: 'He's just wrong and wrong and wrong. I'm just going to say this about Mr Little. He's just wrong. And again. He's always wrong'. According to Andrea Vance, 'She also brushed off his claims that she is "a sociopath". "I think he is under stress at the moment. And I forgive him".'
There are some more important policy debates going on about ACC at the moment. Assoc Prof Grant Duncan of Massey University is an expert on ACC, and he blogs about why Judith Collins is wrong to reject 'shifting ACC's funding model back from full-funding to pay-as-you-go' - see: Crusher Collins' voodoo economics. Similarly, blogger Robert Winter says that the latest revelations about ACC indicate that there has been a Perversion of the Woodhouse Principles. For more on the ACC funding debates see Vernon Small's Funding issue brews in ACC's cauldron.
Other important or interesting political items today include:
* Could the Labour Party end up 'attacking the poor and vulnerable' in order to get back in Government? Chris Trotter thinks so, and explains why in his column, Baby-boomers are becoming scapegoats. He says that Labour might give up on poor people because they don't vote, and that it looks increasingly likely to attempt to mobilise young voters instead with scaremongering about 'intergenerational theft'.