Page 1174 - Week 03 - Thursday, 31 March 2011
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commercially challenging for the insurer. But we are working with that insurer. I understand they are discussing it again today.
I have also sought advice from GSO around whether, if we are not able to release all of the information publicly, based on those commercial reasons, that information could be provided in an in-confidence way to members of this place who are going to debate this legislation. I am awaiting that formal advice. That is responding to Mr Smyth, who has raised that very legitimate concern.
When you look at what has happened over the last two years, I would not want to sit here and set a precedent that says that because we have got a review clause in our legislation it means that we are not able to review that legislation or amend that legislation—and I am not talking about CTP; I am talking about any legislation—before that review is done, because obviously that review can only be the trigger point for further reform. What we have seen in the last two years is a 26 per cent increase in CTP premiums in this jurisdiction, equating to $102 per private motor vehicle. That is what we have seen.
Going to Mr Smyth’s comments that in some sense we know what the review is going to find, we know that it is going to find that premiums have skyrocketed, and we know that it is going to find that competition has not come to the market. And they are two of the main things we were trying to seek by amending this legislation in 2008.
From the data I have seen, in terms of the claims that we have had finalised between October 2006 and September 2007, there has not been any significant change at all in the way that the scheme is carved up—that is, nearly half of the scheme payments are going in general damages and around 16 or 17 per cent, about 16½ half per cent, which is almost the status quo of what we had seen before, a little bit of improvement, is now going in medical costs. So we have seen movement at the edges but we have not seen significant change. And I have to say that I know, based on that, that the review will find that general damages are the main component of the scheme costs and the main component behind the costs escalating.
However, I accept the will of the Assembly to do further work on this bill. It is important reform. It is a way in which this Assembly can seek to ameliorate some of the cost pressures that are hitting families in relation to their motor vehicle registration. We do not have enormous or a whole extensive range of areas where we can intervene to try to reduce some of those cost pressures on families. And this is one of them.
I have no doubt that CTP premiums, if the scheme remains unchanged—and let us face it, if this is delayed until 2012 and does not pass before the next Assembly—will rise again. They will have to rise again. The scheme costs are escalating. The number of claims is not diminishing. There are 800 to 1,000 claims a year. We are not seeing any change in that.
I know that one of the biggest changes that we could make is that we could all slow down and stop tailgating people. That would be a good start. That would have a big impact on the scheme. But we have not seen any major changes in that either.
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