Key Notes: Lifting Education Standards

37 Comments
23 October 2009
Key Notes: Lifting Education Standards

In this issue I talk about our launch of National Education Standards and the Prime Minister's Prizes for Science. I also discuss our progress on law and order and respond to comments on ACC.

Watch my latest video journal here.

LIFTING EDUCATION STANDARDS

I had fun this morning meeting the children at Glen Taylor School in Auckland with Education Minister Anne Tolley. We were there to launch National Education Standards in reading, writing, and maths.

Introducing National Standards was one of our major election policies. They will lift achievement levels for children in primary and intermediate schools, and report children's progress on literacy and numeracy to parents in plain English twice a year.

As many as one-in-five children are not getting the reading, writing, and maths skills they need to succeed. National Standards will help identify those children early so they get more help. The Government is providing $36 million over four years to support schools to introduce the new standards.

PROMOTING SCIENCE

New Zealand's success rests on our ability to make the best use of our scientific expertise. Yet the achievements of our scientists often go unrecognised.

That's why, today, I was pleased to launch the Prime Minister's Prizes for Science. The prizes were another election promise. The Government will provide $1 million a year across five prizes to help lift the prestige of science and attract more young people into science careers.

DELIVERING ON OUR LAW & ORDER PROMISES

We've had a busy few weeks in Parliament passing some of the legislation we promised during the election campaign. Last week, in a speech to the Police Association Annual Conference, I explained how we are delivering on the 10 steps in our Action Plan for Violent Crime:

- Clamping down on gangs and P dealers by giving police and courts more powers to monitor gang communications, dismantle fortifications, and seize the proceeds of crime. Read my opinion piece on P here.

- Tackling violent youth crime by giving the Youth Court a new range of interventions and sentences.

- Strengthening bail laws to make it harder for violent criminals to get bail.

- Removing the right of the worst repeat violent offenders to be released on parole.

- Training an extra 600 frontline police officers.

- Giving police the power to take DNA from people arrested for imprisonable offences.

- Introducing on-the-spot protection orders to help protect victims of domestic violence.

- Establishing a Victims Compensation Scheme funded by a levy on criminals.

- Increasing sentences for crimes against children.

- Making our prisons smarter by increasing drug and alcohol rehabilitation, and work programmes for prisoners.

RESTORING ACC TO FINANCIAL HEALTH

I'd like to thank those of you who have commented about ACC levies.

National is determined to maintain a comprehensive, 24/7, no-fault accident insurance scheme. However, ACC is in serious financial difficulty. Its liabilities have ballooned to almost $24 billion. This is $13 billion more than its assets.

We now have the difficult task of rescuing it financially. The ACC Board has proposed a 64 per cent hike on worker levies and an average 44 per cent increase to employer levies. We don't think that's fair, so we're proposing several measures to reform ACC and reduce levy increases.

Law changes to support this reform will be examined by a select committee. We'll be listening to your views throughout this process.

SUPPORTING FREE-TO-AIR RUGBY WORLD CUP COVERAGE

On Monday, Cabinet agreed to support a joint bid from the Maori Television Service, TVNZ, and TV3 for free-to-air television broadcasting rights for the Rugby World Cup. I'm really pleased the broadcasters have worked together to finalise the bid. The outcome meets our objective - that all New Zealanders can see the main games on free-to-air television. Find out more here.

ON THE ROAD

I'm heading to Thailand this afternoon for the 4^th East Asian Summit.

I'll be meeting leaders of the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations, as well as China, the Republic of Korea, Japan, India, and Australia. One of the things we'll discuss is a proposed economic partnership in East Asia, which has the potential - in the long-term - to create the world's largest free trade area. The countries at the summit account for over half New Zealand's exports, so any move towards free trade will be great news.

After the summit, I'm heading to Malaysia for the signing of the New Zealand-Malaysia Free Trade Agreement. Then I'm off to Japan to promote trade and business links and publicise the 2011 Rugby World Cup. Find out more here.

Best wishes,

John Key

Prime Minister

Support me on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/John-Key/12635800428

Follow me on Twitter http://twitter.com/johnkeypm

Social Media

Posted by admin in Newsletter Trackbacks: (0)

Trackbacks

Trackback specific URI for this entry

No Trackbacks

Comments

Display comments as (Linear | Threaded)

#1 - Tui 2009-10-23 17:04 - (Reply)

ACC has been highjacked by socialist principles; it was instigated to prevent people suing or being sued in the case of accidents. It has morphed into another beast altogether and needs to be taken into safe hands to prevent people staying on ACC's ERC for many years for a soft-tissue injury that is resolved in weeks. ACC should not be assisting people with mental trauma or grief. It is out of control - thanks to Labour governments.

#1.1 - Jayne R 2010-02-12 09:51 - (Reply)

I don't know who you are but it is science, study and research that gives the facts as to what is required to heal people from abuse and trauma. It is very disturbing that you would expect a severely sexually abused, repeatedly raped and molested child to be a socially normal human being and take responsibility for their dysfunctional behaviour. We have an appauling mental health system and ACC who are supposed to provide rehabilitation to casualties of abuse do not. We reap the results in continued cycles of abuse, violence and welfare dependence, wake up!

#2 - Don Wise 2009-10-23 17:07 - (Reply)

Re your newsletter, maybe its because I'm old, but I am coming to believe that you are a one term government. The responses of your education and ACC ministers are cloaked in ideology and have lost touch with the average NZ er.............Regards Don

#3 - James Pettengill 2009-10-23 18:02 - (Reply)

With regard to ACC reform, well done to the current government for finally dealing with the elephant in the room, this is a less sustainable crutch than National Super ( which I hope will also be dealt with as honestly when someone finally plucks up the political courage to admit that National Super is approaching a pyramid scheme ) it is unwise for all concerned to base future assumptions on something that is bound to eventually collapse under its own weight. Total privatization will require thoughtful regulation to actually deliver better value for business and workers alike and this is something no NZ government has managed to achieve to date. Don’t let the private sector make a laughing stock of yet another government by ceasing market control and bleeding the nation for yet another essential service. If this reform fails to deliver a rod will exist for future detractors of more critical reform to beat any will to deal honestly with issues of sustainability out of the publics will.

#4 - Bill Sheat 2009-10-23 18:16 - (Reply)

It a nonsense to refer to the payment for the broadcasting rights for the Rugby in 2011 as a "Bid" . It takes two to bid and there is no one else but the consortium of Maori TV, TVNZ, and TV3. Why does NZ let itself be dictated to by the International Rugby Board?

#5 - Brian Hutton 2009-10-23 18:29 - (Reply)

ACC has for years been a gravy train for all involved -get back to basics -provide for those that do have accidents "real" and proper assessments by REAL doctors as to entitlements - get rid of all other add ons After 49 years in the construction industry - I am sick of seeing people with a simple muscle strain get 6 weeks holiday - and consultants that endorse the injury claim because they are being paid fees they would not normally charge on a patient visit

#6 - Glenn 2009-10-23 18:37 - (Reply)

As a science teacher I can only marvel over the way you hand out 5 (!) science prizes a year. At the same time you are reducing the amount to be spent on science to all primary schools. Nice work. Oh, and literacy is known to improve using a broad range of content, including science.

#6.1 - Max Percy 2009-10-23 22:20 - (Reply)

Glenn so typical of so many teachers your response. Touched with a sprinkling of sarcasm but not one mention of an alternative to this Governments plans to get our kids on leaving school at least being able to understand the 3 r's. John Key, whether you like it or not and the proof is in his poll rating has the support of the majority of New zealanders. At long last the country is being run by a leader that has business accumen and leadership skills rather than the previous lot that was made up of school teachers, activists, ex union members, unemployed, university personal, frustrated women of dubious real life experiences, beaucrats ,the pc brigade and a collection of rabble not unknown to the police.

#6.1.1 - Glenn 2009-10-24 13:52 - (Reply)

Max, one reason my response may be typical of teachers is because education is our profession and we are constantly in search of best practices. No disrespect to John's fine leadership skills and business acumen (nb spelling - you should check a few of your words btw), but how does that qualify him to be an expert in education? Why is he ignoring the experts? By the way '3rs' should really be war in the interests of accuracy when using language. To claim i made no mention of any alternative suggestions is to completely ignore my last sentence. To ignore evidence is ignorance. On a slightly more pedantic note, the polls do not 'prove' that John has the support of all New Zealanders (it ignores all those under 18 for example) nor does it follow that they approve of everything he does. Regards literacy in schools, I am only too ready to acknowledge that there is a significant problem with students arriving at high school with poor skills. This definitely makes my job harder. However, we need to be careful that we are not making things worse by implementing policy based upon political expediency rather than sound pedagogical and empirical evidence.

#7 - Fiona 2009-10-23 18:45 - (Reply)

Sorry your national standards for education will not work if you do not address the underlying skills necessary for learning. Schools are omitting theses and therefore causing a lot of the problems that are being seen. You need to make sure all the underpinning skills are in place BEFORE formal learning starts. If not no matter how many national standards are put it the overall result will NOT change!!! Regards Fiona

#8 - allan 2009-10-23 18:49 - (Reply)

RE: Lifting education: I would like to know why our kids are not given homeworks to be done at home such as math questions or practice sheet. Math skills can not be learned overnight at school. The kids are supposed to practice it at home so that they can compute. Instead the kids are encouraged to use calculator. What if the kids did not bring any calculator, can the kids calculate using pen and paper?? Also, common computer skills should be taught at school. Right now, it is an option in Yr 9 up to Yr 12 to learn spreadsheet and Word. Microsoft Office or Open Office should be a compulsory subject like the English, Math & Science. So should desktop publishing or any multimedia application. Everybody needs to use computer nowadays. So it should be part of the compulsory subjects in school.

#9 - Toni Glover said:
2009-10-23 19:25 - (Reply)

One area that does not seem to have been looked at is the cost to the country for ACC for the tourist. I understand that there are reciprocal agreements in place that need to be taken into consideration, though what about the cost of accidents from tourists. Whereas we of course we want to save, rescue tourists when they get into trouble, the exorbatant cost to New Zealand, searching for one backpacker missing on the Routeburn etc. is extreme. Can we not have a tourist ACC levy to cover this.

#10 - Roger Grace 2009-10-23 19:42 - (Reply)

Your newsletter is an excellent idea. I'm impressed that you take the time to communicate with ordinary NZer's in this manner. Keep it up. R

#10.1 - Rik Bernards 2010-02-11 18:13 - (Reply)

I agree with you Roger!

#11 - John Goodman 2009-10-23 20:03 - (Reply)

Hi, Keep up the good work. ACC is refusing to repair my smashed teeth from a accident on 13th Feb 09, after 5 months of traction,halo & vest, saying decay caused the broken teeth, they certainly need a tune up after 9 yrs of Clarks insanity. I have a busines proposal that could bring in several million in tourist dollars,who can I contact in your Dept with details. God Bless You, John Goodman

#12 - Anne said:
2009-10-23 20:42 - (Reply)

Alas, your spin about free-to-air rugby and Maori TV only having a 80% coverage is not convincing. No room here to debate the issue. I am a senior citizen whose ancestors arrived in the early 1850's and do not have a drop of Maori in me, however, I am saddened at your atitude. What a wonderful chance to show-case our country. You can't trot out Maori sentiments when it suits but turn down this opportunity. I am aware that as leader you have a fine wire to walk. Some of my friends are red-neck National supporters and very vocal,(that's why I get your newsletter which I have not requested) so don't let them bully you.

#12.1 - Ken Keall said:
2009-10-24 17:11 - (Reply)

All National and International sports events should be 'free to air' not just the Rugby Cup

#13 - Tony Leatherbarrow 2009-10-23 20:43 - (Reply)

To make ACC equitable and fair for everyone, in these days of user pays, there should be levies, based on membership numbers and injury rates, on all clubs and sporting organizations where injuries are known to be prevalent. Why should workers and employers be expected to cover costs of sport accidents?

#14 - Bud Rose 2009-10-23 21:04 - (Reply)

Sir. I think your newsletter is a great idea. I would like to comment on the ACC dilemma, even though, as a superannuitant it doesn't affect me as much as the still working people until I have an accident or sustain some injury. The ACC itself appears to have built itself up to a mammoth establishment with large offices pretty well all over New Zealand, and subsequent large staff numbers. I read somewhere recently of the number of employees of ACC who were being paid in excess of $100,000.00 per year, with another group of more senior members being paid a larger amount.Could not a large amount of the discrepancy in the outgoings against the income be reduced by bringing the staff levels down to a more practical number and reducing the doubling up of personnel doing the same job in different areas??Apart from the above, just keep on doing the good job you have managed to achieve to date regardless of the "dorkish" criticism from Helen's successor. Regards, Bud.

#15 - Ray 2009-10-23 21:12 - (Reply)

ACC The reported proposal for levies causes me concern. My income is fixed. When times are tight, we all make choices about whether or not to continue with Sky, gym membership and top of the range health insurance. This year, I changed to a less comprehensive health insurance plan with affordable premiums. I would like to see levies reduced and I would be prepared for a simpler plan. I would be happy to opt out if that could be offered. I could then opt back in when my circumstances imrove. Same as for KiwiSaver.

#16 - Ken Meredith 2009-10-23 22:40 - (Reply)

At last Sanity is returning to the management of ACC. The key word in the title is ACCIDENT. Suicide is not an accident - it may be distressing to the family but Suicide used to be a crime 100 years ago. Crimes are not accidents and rape victims are the victims of crime and should be compensated from a fund for victims of crime. Criminal Acts should not be profited from by anyone out of ACC funds, including the crims who break legs while leaping out of somebodyelse's window. Compensate for genuine accidents but clean up the Augean Stables of the ACC bureaucracy. And while you are at it, give a thought to the disparate treatment provided under the present ACC scheme to accident victims compared with the case of the unfortunate who suffer similar grievous physical handicaps as a result of medical conditions. The loss of a limb should be compensated for on an equal basis whether it is accident or disease. At present the latter cases are treated as second class citizens compared with the stupid individuals who indulge in dangerous play on the rugger field or bunjee jump!

#17 - dennis warner 2009-10-23 23:56 - (Reply)

Law and Order. Dear Sir, You said 10 points. Why was Life for Life not mentioned? Most people are waiting for this change in thelaw. Criminals should not have had to serve a 5yr sentance before life can be given. Dennis Warner Papamoa Beach

#18 - Graeme Martin 2009-10-24 09:31 - (Reply)

"You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for,that my dear friend, is about the end of any nation. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it." ~~~~ Dr. Adrian Rogers, 1931

#19 - Paul Bailey 2009-10-24 21:24 - (Reply)

Mr Key Thank you for giving us this opportunity to communicate with you. Transparency in any government develops trust. Thank you for not being ashamed to let the country know the state that it is in. We need to bond together as a nation and develop new initiatives to reduce our reliance on the world around us. We have the potential to lead in so many more areas. Credit must be given to those who laid the foundation for our nation with their own blood, sweat and tears; and to those who continue to work hard to make New Zealand a country that we can all be proud to call 'home'. Regards,Paul Bailey, Te Puke

#20 - Peter 2009-10-26 09:11 - (Reply)

Hi John I wonder with the ACC if your research has shown the gross abuse of income paid to the occupational therapists. Some of these people are milking the system earning up to $300,000 per annum due to inefficiecies created by ACC. I know that a Hamilton based person can be requested to see a client in Taumaranui oned day and receive a horrendous amount of money for this one off trip and then go back another day to see another client and the visit's may only take half an hour each but instead of fitting it all in one day it is spread across a number of days. The way this work is allocated is incorrect too. It all depends who is in favour with the person allocate this work to the occupational therapists. In the above scenario there may be some one closer but they do not get given the work. The above scenario's are only the tip of the iceberg, but if you can save the hundreds of thousands overspent in this area on each individual occupational therapists then we may not need to increase the ACC as much as is needed. Someone like you John really needs to apply some logic and some stream lining to this process. Good luck with this John, but it may be a case of minimising the costs than increasing the price. Thanks Peter

#21 - Dr. Charlie Baycroft 2009-10-26 13:07 - (Reply)

ACC. We should remember that ACC was devised to: 1. Reduce the burden of accident related litigation in the courts. 2. Enable Norman Kirk to realize his vision of a state run medical system, because there is really no difference in being injured or being sick (personal communication). The consequences of this legislation were made clear by many people when it was introduced but they were ignored by the government. It has evolved to be a selfish greedy monopoly bent on serving its own needs. It seriously does need to be overhauled but from within. Increasing the financial burden on the public (workers, motorcycle riders, employers) without addressing the culture and practices and poor management within ACC is not the right way to go about this. Are you going to restore our right to be ensured by other companies and to sue for negligence?

#22 - M Topping 2009-10-27 08:32 - (Reply)

How can you say your are lifting education standards when you have removed funding for professional development for early childhood teachers!

#23 - Ron 2009-10-27 10:24 - (Reply)

Just a question, please - re ACC. Why do we pay for injury to overseas visitors at, no doubt, great cost to ACC when we New Zealanders who visit other countries make very sure we have Travel Insurance in case something similar happens to us on foreign soil?

#24 - Roger from Ramarama 2009-10-27 15:55 - (Reply)

As a longtime National supporter and one who supports 95% of what you are putting right I still see two open sores which would stop me voting for you next time. They are, getting rid of the smacking legislation which you just dont appear to understand the publics views. Secondly the way you allow Hide to run roughshod over Franklin areas feelings. I note neither you or Hide have faced the people, (like you did before the last election when you wanted support) but the fact that you support Hide rather than the local MP is discussing. kind regards Roger.

#25 - Graham Halstead 2009-10-27 18:55 - (Reply)

Lifting Educational Standards: Strongly agree with proposal but given the apparent lack of co-operation from many principals and teachers, it would be better to make it voluntary for schools to participate in first two years. This transition would allow any teething troubles to be remedied and also create status for those participating schools. I should add that education is too important to be left to educationalists. ACC: Changes are long overdue. It should be run on similar lines to what an insurance company would do. Examples are no claim bonuses and lower premiums for large employers with low claims by employees. Higher excesses could be negotiated in return for lower premiums. Farm bike accidents are far too high and should be separated out of the farm worker group. Farm bikes may have be registered each year, solely for ACC purposes. Don't agree that seasonal workers should suffer limited or nil cover for lost wages. They should be covered for the normal period of seasonal work. Strongly disagree with any proposals to privatise ACC or allow private companies to compete with ACC. National's last attempt was an administration nightmare for all concerned. ACC has the substantial benefit of economy of scale and can also focus on accident prevention and rehabilitation. Private companies will simply cherry-pick and do nothing about accident prevention or rehabilitation. It would be equally stupid to attempt to privatise Parliament !! We just need the right people on the ACC Board and any changes to ACC Act to allow ACC to function more like an insurance company. Of course some political input will always be necessary to curtail unnecessary milking of the system. There must be incentives for people to return to the workforce and not necessarily to the same sort of job.

#25.1 - Ian 2009-10-29 23:05 - (Reply)

Graham, with respect, have you ever studied education, education psychology or anything in relation to human learning? National standards have been tried and have failed in many a western country; what makes you think it will work here. Teachers are paid, quite appropriately, to deliver education that is backed by the latest evidence on how students best learn. We are not all the same; we do not learn in the same way and we cannot be tested in the same way. Many professions (e.g. medicine) now recognise the importance of 'Emotional Intelligence'(EI), as well as academic perfomance. EI is about how we relate to one and other, verbally and non-verbally. There is far more to learning that the 3 R's - we need empathy, compassion, tolerance, etc. to be evident in our children, far more than developing a nation of automatons who tick all the boxes. Your line of 'Education is too important to be left to educationalists' - was this sarcasm or just plain dumb? Lets get undertakers, or hunters, no, let's get firemen to decide education po;icy - that would be silly - as silly as getting an accountant and a banker in charge of health.

#26 - Maree 2009-10-30 00:57 - (Reply)

Mr. Key, could you provide me with some specific references to substantiate your claims that National Standards "will lift achievement levels for children in primary and intermediate schools" and that "as many as one-in-five children are not getting the reading, writing, and maths skills they need to succeed"? My understanding is that recently a major report in the UK (The Cambridge Primary Review) criticised the narrowing of the curriculum and stated that the government's "standards agenda is viewed less favourably – not from opposition to standards and accountability but because of the educational damage the apparatus of targets, testing, performance tables, national strategies and inspection is perceived to have caused for questionable returns." I also understand that in the last OECD Programme of International Student Achievement rankings, NZ placed 5th for Reading, 7th for Science, and 11th for Maths (of 57 participating countries). This would seem to indicate that something's going well, surely? As a primary school teacher, I am already well equipped to identify early those pupils who are at risk of not achieving. My difficulty lies in getting them the extra help they need, whether this be targeted teaching from me (difficult due to the 27 other children in my class who also deserve my attention), or external support. I suggest the $36 million you propose to spend on National Standards would be better spent addressing these problems. I invite you, Mr. Key, to spend some time in my classroom to fully appreciate the realities of education today.

#26.1 - Colleen 2009-11-02 15:00 - (Reply)

Having taught in NZ Primary schools since 1953 until about two years ago, I must say I agree with Maree. I am very concerned at this new plan to fix 'what ain't broke', but soon will be. When in England on exchange in 1990, I watched English teachers being asked to take on more and more testing, to the detriment of actually teaching, and told my English colleagues that NZ would never do that. In recent years I have seen that very same trend and surely this move will see that made worse. We did once lead the world in our Literacy in particular and I don't believe our teachers' skills have changed. Parents will always [and have always] complained about the language we use to report on their children's progress. The truth is,schools are not factories and students are not products, so reporting must be affected by semantics. So what! I have spent many hours carefully trying to point out that if you don't read at home and if you haven't spent the formative years from one to five speaking with your child rather than at your child then don't be surprised when he has difficulty engaging with books. Additionally, when your child only comes to school intermittently, the task is even more difficult. While teaching in the Mid North I once did a check on how much schooling some of my struggling students had missed and found that in many cases it was as much as four years. They are all counted in the statistics though! As for the publicity over all this - please tell Ms Tolley to heed the following old saw - 'if Mathematics is the Queen of the Sciences then Arithmetic is the Queen of Mathematics'. So do her plans include just Arithmetic only? The media reports it as 'English and Arithmetic'. Colleen

#27 - Alois Schatzdorfer 2009-10-30 10:26 - (Reply)

The discussions about ACC and how the various affected paying public respond to it do amaze me . Nobody has actually looked into how this Government department got so out of hand with their spending since its inception. The ACC’s liability in 1974 was $33 million, by 1988 it rose to $700 million, in 1999 it was $1.3 billion, and in the last 10 years it has risen to a liability of $23.8 billion. The question to all involved should be how was that allowed to happen? The ACC should not get an increase in premiums, instead it should have a serious restructure from the top down. Weed out the people responsible for this liability blow-out and at the same time take away cases which should not be under ACC - such as; those related to criminal activity, rape, tourists, etc. I am surprised that the NZ news media has not done any research into this ACC liability blow-out over the years, and who is to blame. Instead they are reporting how the various sectors of society are reacting to the increases. This is amazing. By the way, it is about time that there is a law in place that Government and Local bodies can not increase any fees/rates more than the inflation rate plus two or three percent per year.

#28 - Dave Adam 2009-10-31 20:24 - (Reply)

Dear John. Good to get 'your' newsletter and to feel like the head of State is communicating to me - at the productive coal face of this country. National got my vote in the last election as I felt that Kiwis and my family needed to keep more of their hard earned income, and your tax cuts and promises to lift our living standards closer to Australias' clinched my vote. However, you canned further tax cuts and I've just received my ACC invoice for this financial year - it is a massive 43% increase! Further Government regulation of the industry in which I work will cost me a further $750+ this financial year. Power costs have rocketed in recent years; I pay private school fees but get no tax rebate for this (i.e. I pay twice for my sons education); local authority rates continue to climb etc. etc. The net result is relenteless Governement/SOE/ local authority cost increases are out of control!! A stunning show of arrogance toward Kiwi tax payers as we tough it out of this recession. The Heads of Treasury & the Reserve Bank both told you in the last week to reign in Government spending, but your strategy seems to be to further tax the income/profit earners rather than deal to the unproductive State waste that this country can not afford. John, it is time for tough leadership - please start delivering on your promises or you'll be running out of runway for my next vote. I'm looking for the benefits, but just seeing costs right now! Best wishes . . .

#29 - Michael said:
2009-11-05 06:47 - (Reply)

Hi John How come the [accounting] losses at ACC have come as such a complete surprise to us all? Why are the auditors and the government actuary not being called to face the public and explain the how the financial position of ACC to the public arose so suddenly from since the ACC's last published annual report. We need greater transparency from ACC management and given the recent events that have surfaced at ACC, I am afraid politicians nor the ACC CEO / Board meet the required transparency threshold. As I have mentioned, given the scale of the financial issues at ACC, which beggers belief, the auditors and government actuary need to publicly explain how such a loss has occurred.

#30 - Tobler Law said:
2011-02-26 09:13 - (Reply)

Education standards have been needed to be lifted for a very long time.

Add Comment

Name
Email
Homepage
In reply to
Comment	E-Mail addresses will not be displayed and will only be used for E-Mail notifications To prevent automated Bots from commentspamming, please enter the string you see in the image below in the appropriate input box. Your comment will only be submitted if the strings match. Please ensure that your browser supports and accepts cookies, or your comment cannot be verified correctly. Enter the string from the spam-prevention image above:
	Remember Information? Subscribe to this entry
Submitted comments will be subject to moderation before being displayed.