[ad_1]
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says she cannot expand access to cover all those traumatized by the March 15 terrorist attacks without expanding access more widely.
Currently, ACC covers people with direct physical injuries, but not those with mental health injuries that are not related to work or the result of sexual abuse.
That means those who were traumatized in any of the Christchurch mosques two years ago, where a terrorist killed 51 Muslim worshipers, are not eligible for direct payments for mental health trauma.
ROBERT KITCHEN / Things
Jacinda Ardern said any ACC expansion to cover the traumatized on March 15 would expand the scheme for everyone.
Ardern was pressed on why there was no more support for the victims from John Campbell on TVNZ Breakfast.
READ MORE:
* Christchurch terrorist attack families will be assigned case managers
* Christchurch terrorist attack survivors plagued with fear, trauma
* The ACC may seek to expand mental trauma coverage for the families of Christchurch terror attack victims.
* Wellington disabled man falls into poverty and depression after support from ACC axes
He said the government had provided a wide range of support to victims, including immigration assistance and access to the broader welfare system for those who may have been ineligible.
Ardern also singled out ACC as a form of compensation for physical injuries, but said there was no “massive form of payment.”
“Our system is special. We have ACC as a form of compensation. For others, we have expanded the eligibility of our wellness system so that it can also provide support. But that means we don’t have a form of bulk pay compensation because we have lost earnings replacement through ACC, ”Ardern said.
He said changing the eligibility of the March 15 victims would mean expanding coverage for the entire country.
Chris McKeen / Stuff
Flowers placed in the wake of the attacks on the Christchurch mosque on March 15.
“If we were to change that, we would have to change that for everyone, so that’s something that has always been on our minds. ACC is very special because it does that, but it means there are other things, like bulk payments, that we don’t do. “
Campbell noted that ACC did not cover non-work-related traumatic events, pointing to a statement from ACC that said it had rejected 10 claims from people who were in the mosque but were not physically injured.
Ardern said this “very specific group” was not eligible for income replacement, but was eligible for support through the broader health and benefits system.
“It would be a very substantial change to make in ACC to alter the criteria in that way,” Ardern said.
The issue has been dormant for a long time, with March 15 Chief Minister Andrew Little having an irritating interview with RNZ last Friday.
The government proposed a targeted and targeted extension of the ACC for the survivors of March 15, 2019, and then-ACC Minister Iain Lees-Galloway presented a document to cabinet.
The document from the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment argued that it was possible for the Government to direct this funding as essentially one-off, and said this was appropriate as ACC provided a higher level of support than other benefits.
The Treasury was against this, arguing that it created a “great risk of opening ACC to further expansion”, which would be costly.
The cabinet ultimately decided not to.
