Page 1416 - Week 04 - Thursday, 4 April 2019
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citizens jury, I recall at least one member of the Assembly describing the topic as boring. I am sure that Ms Le Couteur no longer feels that way, and I am sure members no longer feel that way, having spent a lot of time hearing from different groups and people who have very passionate views about this issue.
Of course, there is no such thing as a perfect accident insurance scheme. As we have said from the start of this reform project, we are aiming to deliver a new scheme that best reflects the priorities and the values of this community. We have been up-front in acknowledging that there will always be trade-offs and competing views when embarking on an overhaul this significant.
This bill and the new motor accident injury scheme it establishes have been designed around the priorities and the values that Canberrans told us were important to them. Those priorities and values were: fair coverage for all road users; equitable access to treatment and care for people who are injured; quick and transparent benefits to get recovery underway as soon as possible; and comprehensive and ongoing support for those who need it most.
This reform means that everyone—I repeat: everyone—who is injured in a motor vehicle accident will be entitled to up to five years of medical treatment, care and income replacement benefits as long as they are not breaking the law at the time of the accident.
To put this into some perspective for members of this place, about 1,500 people each year are injured in motor vehicle accidents in Canberra. At the moment only around 900 of them are eligible to access treatment and support through our existing CTP scheme. Only 900 of the around 1,500 people who are injured each year are eligible under the current scheme. The changes we are making will mean that around 600 more Canberrans are covered. Those 600 more Canberrans each year will be able to make a claim for their treatment, care and lost wages when they are injured on our roads.
Importantly, too, the new scheme preserves the ability for people who are more seriously injured in an accident where someone else was at fault to sue at common law if they need treatment, care and income in the long term.
This bill delivers a better and fairer insurance scheme for Canberrans. It is a big step forward from the current scheme, which sees hundreds of people each and every year left without the help they need after an accident.
Madam Assistant Speaker, as we have heard this afternoon, there is a fair bit of misinformation around about what this bill does and what it does not do. We have seen it on display in the contributions other members have made, one in particular, in this debate. I would like to take this opportunity this afternoon to bust a few myths about the new motor accident injury scheme.
The first is the suggestion that this new scheme will not deliver faster access to treatment and care. Under the new scheme, the payment of benefits can start as soon as a claim is lodged, with insurers required to cover specified medical and treatment
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