Page 1403 - Week 04 - Thursday, 4 April 2019
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model chosen by the jury reduced the overall compensation for not-at-fault victims by between 42 and 56 per cent. The selected model D effectively halves the compensation for innocent victims of motor vehicle accidents and puts their lives in the hands of big insurance companies.
I cannot overstate the effect that these changes will have. They include: quality of life payments would be cut by 80 per cent. There would be a 31 per cent reduction in loss of earning compensation, a 26 per cent decrease in care costs, and reimbursement for private medical costs and public hospital costs would drop 17 per cent and six per cent respectively. However, the minority jury report stated that these cuts are not warranted. The government has not released the second round of modelling, and we have grave concerns that the benefits and overall compensation available may have deteriorated even further.
This government continues to increase the cost of living for all Canberrans through rates, taxes, fees and charges. They have increased costs by thousands of dollars per household; yet they use the cost of living as an argument for changing the scheme. They are interested in a few dollars in the CTP scheme but not interested in the thousands of dollars in rates and other taxes and charges.
The model chosen by the jury originally predicted premium reductions of between $91 and $171 for motorists. However, the new modelling, the detail of which we have not yet seen, is now estimating a saving of between $14 and $99, considerably less. What is all this for?
We must also consider the additional resourcing required for the new scheme. The implementation and operational costs will likely mean that any small reduction in premiums will be more than offset by an increase in associated registration fees. The benefits for not-at-fault victims have been slashed; yet motorists may well find themselves paying more fees for fewer benefits.
The legislation before the Assembly is trading away the current level of compensation in favour of benefits to the driver who causes an accident, and this is something that the Canberra Liberals do not support. The government is far more interested in protecting and boosting insurance company profits than supporting permanently incapacitated Canberrans.
The legislation embeds inequity within the system by giving a significant amount of power to the insurance companies. One of the most disturbing and troublesome elements of the new scheme is the introduction of WPI thresholds. The proposed 10 per cent threshold is too onerous and will severely curtail the number of innocent victims who can access compensation. The proposed system would operate unfairly and result in many victims being barred from accessing what they could rightfully claim under the current system.
The scheme will have a devastating impact on many Canberrans’ lives, not just road accident victims but also their families. Claimants will be forced to choose between coverage for psychological and physical injuries, and they are expected to inform their insurer which one they would like covered. Let me repeat that. Claimants will be
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