The man who first recommended a no-fault accident compensation scheme for New Zealand has died at the age of 97.
Sir Owen Woodhouse chaired the Royal Commission on Accident Compensation in 1966 and 1967, which resulted in the Woodhouse Report.
It recommended the establishment of the body that would become the Accident Compensation Corporation.
Prime Minister John Key and Labour Party leader David Cunliffe, have both paid tribute to the former jurist.
Mr Cunliffe said Sir Owen's work on ACC was ground-breaking, and Mr Key said he had left a genuinely important legacy for New Zealand.
Chief Justice Elias said Sir Owen was an outstanding jurist with a passion for social justice, a reformer and a great New Zealander.
