30 Apr 2010

ACC review waste of time - Labour

4:48 pm on 30 April 2010

An independent clinical review of the Accident Compensation Corporation's sensitive-claims system is a waste of time, says the Labour Party.

The Government has established the review to assess the impact of changes announced last year.

ACC said at the time that it was legally required to concentrate on providing counselling to sexual abuse victims who suffered a diagnosed mental injury.

The Labour Party's victim's rights spokesperson, Lynne Pillay, says the changes have revictimised people and denied counselling to hundreds of victims.

But ACC Minister Nick Smith has accused Labour of playing politics with victims of sexual abuse.

Dr Smith says Labour is responsible for the situation.