Dame Paula Rebstock has learnt to ignore the criticism that comes with the job

An article from Stuff by Jo Moir

Public servant Paula Rebstock has been recognised for her services to the state by being made a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit. Jo Moir spoke to her about her most challenging roles, the sacrifices and how she deals with, often negative, public scrutiny. Money-hungry, a patchy performer, unqualified for your job: for most people, having those insults hurled your way would make 2015 an annus horribilis.
For Paula Rebstock, however, the barbs were nothing compared to some of the darkest days in her career.
When a lone gunman walked into a Work and Income office in Ashburton in September 2014, killing two staff and leaving a third seriously injured, Rebstock - chairwoman of the Work and Income board - stood alongside workers and the community as they struggled to make sense of the tragedy.
"The senseless loss of life of staff, those things are the things that are truly hard to deal with, and those things put life in perspective."
Now, her appointment as a Dame Companion of the NZ Order of Merit has provided a new perspective on her years of work. On New Year's Eve, Rebstock, her husband and two daughters will take up glasses of bubbles from their holiday home in the Bay of Islands, toasting a successful year rounded off with a "surprising" honour that brought her to tears.
Standing in the kitchen with her husband while opening the mail, Rebstock thought nothing of a letter from Government House, assuming it was her annual invite to Waitangi Day commemorations.
"I opened it and was really quite taken back. My husband said to me, 'What is wrong with you?' and I handed him the letter with tears running down my face. He looked at me and said, 'Oh God'."
Rebstock's two daughters, aged 20 and 24, have made "a lot of allowances for the certain work schedule their mother keeps" so she was straight on the phone to tell them the news.
"It was a special family moment, no question."
This isn't Rebstock's first award: after completely revamping the Commerce Commission, she was made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2009.
Rebstock, originally from Montana in the United States, moved to New Zealand in 1987 and says the honour helped her to feel at home.
"For me it was something about being accepted in this country and really being a New Zealander like everyone else."
First employed by Treasury as an economist, she then served in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet before moving to the Commerce Commission, where she became chair in 2003.
"When I left the Commerce Commission I always thought that would be the thing in my career I'd most feel proud of because we really did shift the work of the Commerce Commission to be far more productive."
On leaving the Commission in 2009, Rebstock was asked to lead an expert panel on probation services, which at the time was "really in a state of crisis".
"They were an agency under siege."
After cleaning up that mess, Rebstock moved onto ACC where her first experience on the board was a "terrible privacy breach". Details of thousands of ACC clients, some who fell under sensitive claims, were accidentally sent to ACC claimant Bronwyn Pullar.
"It really rocked the organisation...it involved a fairly large transformation in order to earn back the trust and confidence of our customers."
Most recently, Rebstock has been chairing a review of Child Youth and Family - a government department that has endured years of overhauls but no real change.
"If I'm honest I don't think I realised how big a challenge it was going to be...we've not done well by children who come into the care of the state."
Labour leader Andrew Little was scathing about her $2000-a-day salary for the review, saying she was "in it for herself" in what he described as a "pretty patchy career".
Rebstock is not new to criticism of her work, singling out "relentless" scrutiny while at the Commerce Commission, but says she does not let the political jibes get the best of her.
"These things are political processes and it's part of the game...it would be crazy if I allowed myself to get caught up in that - that's not to say at the time I didn't think, 'Gosh, why am I doing this again?'."
For now, it's Christmas at home, then a month at the beach and much excitement at the news her elderly parents and sister plan to travel to New Zealand in the New Year to celebrate her honour.
"People have to make a lot of allowances for you in their life when you get involved in a lot of these things and my family have always done that."

© 2016 Fairfax New Zealand Ltd

www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/75403036/Dame-Paula-Rebstock-has-learnt-to-ignore-the-criticism-that-comes-with-the-job

ACC culture must be more fair and open

An editorial from the New Zealand Herald

The need for a culture change at the Accident Compensation Corporation has prompted the departure of the chairman, two board members, the chief executive and several officials. With the decks cleared, much of the responsibility for turning the ship around will lie with the board appointees announced by the ACC Minister, Judith Collins, this week. Unsurprisingly, the interim chairwoman, Paula Rebstock, will reprise her fix-it role at the table's head for the next three years. Other new appointments see Trevor Janes in the deputy chairman's chair and Professor Des Gorman and Kirsty McDonald, QC, on the board.
Ms Collins says these choices "underline the Government's commitment to genuine culture change, and will lead to a more balanced and comprehensive approach to the governance and operation of ACC". It is on that basis that the appointments will be scrutinised. Labour's ACC spokesman, Andrew Little, was quick to talk of "a sharp lurch to the right" and to zero in on Professor Gorman. The professor, head of the Auckland School of Medicine, had, he said, been a senior medical adviser to the ACC for many years, and "given some of the most retrograde advice on claimants' files I've known".
He said the professor had been the subject of many complaints over his advice about occupational overuse syndrome in the 1990s.
That raises questions about the precise nature of the culture that will be implanted at the ACC. The first priority, in the wake of the privacy breach which saw details of 6700 ACC claimants emailed to Bronwyn Pullar, is no longer said to be cost containment. Rather, it is trust and confidence. But the criticism of Professor Gorman over OOS advice has had a recent echo in the stricter enforcement of the ACC's policy of declining to pay for surgery for "pre-existing conditions". To save money, the ACC seized on age-related degeneration of claimants' bodies to unjustifiably reject their claims for surgery after an injury.
On appeal, too many rejections of such claims were reversed. Understandably, this led to accusations that the ACC was too hard-nosed. The corporation, after an internal review, conceded as much, yet comments this year by the previous chairman, John Judge, suggested nothing much had changed. The ACC was still not getting the balance right in its decision-making.
An early task for Ms Rebstock must, therefore, be to respond to the criticism of Professor Gorman's appointment and to spell out exactly what it signifies. When the stricter policy for pre-existing conditions was introduced, there was no public notification of why it was necessary or how it would be applied. That lack of transparency is not sustainable. More broadly, the new culture must include a clear explanation of exactly where the ACC is headed under the new board.
The corporation should be involving claimants' surgeons more in its decision-making and applying extra expertise where necessary. It should also be explaining the reasons for its decisions more clearly to people. The "almost cavalier" attitude identified by official inquiries into the Pullar case cannot continue. But the changes to the way the ACC approaches its job, notably in keeping costs under control, should be kept in proportion. There can, for example, be no question of unworthy claims for surgery being approved with few questions asked.
The lessons of the Pullar case are that the ACC must be more sensitive, fair and open in its dealings with people. That culture change will not have to be as drastic as that needed at the top level to achieve it.

© 2012 APN Holdings NZ Ltd

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10832252

Rebstock’s appointment highlights opportunity for ACC

A press release from the Green Party

The appointment of Paula Rebstock as permanent chair of ACC is an opportunity to steer the corporation back towards the role and principles it was founded on, the Green party said today.
Ms Rebstock has been interim chair of ACC since John Judge stood down and today was appointed chairperson.
“Ms Rebstock has a huge responsibility to turn the ACC ship around,” Green Party ACC spokesperson Kevin Hague said today.
“Recent reports into ACC by the Auditor General and the Privacy Commissioner have called for major top-level change at the corporation.
“New Zealanders will expect a very different performance and attitude from ACC than they saw when Ms Rebstock was a board member under John Judge and the previous ACC minister Nick Smith.
“Her dual roles in both ACC and Work and Income will require her to be particularly conscious that it is not acceptable to exit people from ACC only to have them end up on WINZ benefits.
“Ordinary New Zealanders don’t like the profit-driven, privacy-abandoning organisation that ACC has become and want it to return to the principals it was founded on.
“It’s pretty basic really. Kiwis gave up the right to sue for a no-fault system that guaranteed them proper compensation and rehabilitation when they were hurt and injured. Its about giving injured New Zealanders the chance of a good life and a fair future.
“Ms Rebstock has a huge job to lead the top-level change that’s needed to make that happen,” Mr Hague said.

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1209/S00033/rebstocks-appointment-highlights-opportunity-for-acc.htm

ACC privacy report may lead to wider overhaul

An article from the New Zealand Herald by Adam Bennett

All government agencies' handling of private data may be reviewed after an independent inquiry into the ACC privacy breach found it could have happened in any department.
The report by former Australian Privacy Commissioner Malcolm Crompton and accountancy firm KPMG examined what led to a spreadsheet containing details about 6748 clients being emailed to claimant and former National Party insider Bronwyn Pullar last year, and ACC's response when it learned of the breach in December.
It concluded that the breach, which was disclosed to the public, senior management and ACC Minister Judith Collins only when Ms Pullar went to the media with the information in March, was down to "a genuine human error".
However, "such an error was more likely to occur because of systemic weaknesses within ACC's culture, systems and processes".
The report also found ACC's subsequent response process could have been better "if appropriate policies, practices, escalation protocols and the right culture were in place".
It made a series of recommendations to improve privacy handling at the corporation.
Acting ACC chairwoman Paula Rebstock said the corporation would be implementing the review's recommendations in full.
Speaking to reporters, Mr Crompton said Ms Pullar had done the public "a service by making sure that we pay attention to the proper governance of personal information".
"Most organisations should be taking great note of the fact that it could have been them."
State Services Commissioner Ian Rennie said the report was "a dramatic reminder of the need for all government agencies to treat private information with the utmost care and respect".
"To this end, I am considering that state sector chief executives review their systems for handling private information. Any stocktake would initially be targeted on areas of greatest potential risk."
But Labour's ACC spokesman, Andrew Little, said he did not believe Mr Crompton's claim it was bad luck that the breach occurred at ACC rather than another department.
"There is nowhere else in the Government where there has been the apparent sloppiness in the approach to managing that information as at ACC."
Mr Little said the National Government on coming to power had painted a picture of an organisation in financial crisis that therefore needed to focus on cutting costs.
"That is at least one explanation for the more cavalier attitude towards claimants, their issues and their privacy. I don't think the Government can disown responsibility for it having got to this point."
Privacy Commissioner Marie Shroff, who commissioned yesterday's report, said it appeared ACC staff had been under pressure and "a failure in systems processes and perhaps leadership has led to them developing a somewhat cavalier attitude towards people's information and that needs to change".
Mr Little called for Ms Collins to be replaced as ACC Minister to allow the culture change required. Ms Collins dismissed that call, and Mr Little, as "silly".
A report by Auditor-General Lyn Provost into whether Ms Pullar gained any advantage in the way her claim was treated because of her connections with former board member John McCliskie, which was also released yesterday, found no evidence that was the case.
But the report did raise concerns Mr McCliskie and then-chairman John Judge failed to recognise wider allegations of illegality and fraud at the corporation brought to their attention by Ms Pullar late last year.

© 2012 APN Holdings NZ Ltd

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10829060

Culture of fear at ACC

An article from the Dominion Post by Phil Kitchin

Further action could yet be taken against senior ACC managers who failed to act on whistleblower Bronwyn Pullar's first warnings of a massive privacy breach.
As a damning independent report into the breach was published yesterday, ACC Minister Judith Collins has revealed that senior management were operating in a culture of fear at the time.
The report vindicates Ms Pullar, who revealed the breach after making repeated complaints to ACC management, board and staff members about privacy and other alleged breaches of the corporation's codes and laws.
Ms Pullar, an ACC client, was inadvertently sent private details of 6500 fellow clients. The information contained names and details of hundreds of people from ACC's sensitive claims unit, including rape and incest victims.
Since The Dominion Post revealed the privacy breach in March, the fallout from the scandal has included the resignations of Cabinet minister Nick Smith and chief executive Ralph Stewart, and the departure from ACC's board of chairman John Judge and directors John McCliskie and Rob Campbell.
Ms Collins said yesterday she had been told by Mr Stewart that, when he arrived in August last year, "even senior management worked in a culture of fear ... people felt they could not tell others about what had happened".
Asked whether she believed ACC should take action against senior managers involved in the case, she said it was difficult to comment on individual staff.
Interim ACC chairwoman Paula Rebstock said yesterday that she could not talk about individual managers either, but ACC would look at performance issues and take appropriate action. The corporation accepted it had a poor culture on privacy and would accept a string of recommendations to change that culture, she said.
Ms Collins said she expressed concerns about ACC's culture to Mr Judge on more than one occasion, and said she wanted clients treated with respect, courtesy and professionalism. The board did not seem to understand "just how important privacy was", and in June she dumped Mr Judge, Mr McCliskie and Mr Campbell by not renewing their directorships. She said it was a serious error of leadership by the board not to tell Mr Stewart of a list of serious allegations made by Ms Pullar at a meeting with ACC senior managers Philip Murch and Hans Verberne in December.
An ACC report of that meeting, given to Ms Collins three days after The Dominion Post exposed the privacy breach, said Ms Pullar threatened to go to the media and would withhold details of the breach unless she was given a guaranteed benefit. But a tape recording Ms Pullar made at the meeting showed the allegations were false, as was the statement by ACC that no specific details on the breach were given to the managers.
The report to Ms Collins also said that, given the serious nature of the breach, the details should have been escalated to more senior ACC management but were not.
Inquiries by police and the auditor-general later showed that statement was also wrong, and that the two managers at the meeting informed two superior managers and the board secretary about it.
Ms Rebstock said yesterday that, if any allegations in the report to Ms Collins were incorrect, "we will correct it". The original report was still on ACC's website yesterday.
Ms Pullar said she was pleased the report had vindicated concerns she had been trying to raise for years, and she was heartened that Ms Collins said all its recommendations were accepted. She said changes would provide better and fairer outcomes for everyone dealing with ACC.

© 2012 Fairfax New Zealand Ltd

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/7538313/Culture-of-fear-at-ACC

ACC chair on independent review of ACC privacy

A press release from ACC by Paula Rebstock

ACC and the Board want to thank the authors for the work they have done and the considered way they have presented the findings.
We will be implementing the recommendations made in full.
On behalf of the Board and ACC, I undertake that we will respond to the challenge before us.
ACC has a clear sense of purpose which is to help individuals, communities and businesses return to independence after accidents. The events over the last six months have raised profound questions about our management of information.
ACC must show customers and stakeholders that change is occurring, that we are responding quickly and that we can demonstrate that people’s personal information is being treated with the care and respect it deserves.
We need processes that help minimise errors with safeguards to provide checks and back-ups. If something does go wrong, we must have systems to respond quickly and appropriately, and just as importantly, we need to find out what went wrong so we can try to prevent it happening again.
The responsibility for this sits with the Board and Management of ACC to provide our people with the environment, tools and processes they need to manage information appropriately.
The review outlines seven broad areas for improving systems and processes with a series of detailed recommendations under each. Just as important, we need strong leadership, the right culture and unquestionable commitment to privacy – and that starts with the Board.
I would also like to acknowledge the work of the Auditor General and the Inquiry Report that was released today into aspects of ACC’s Board-level governance following the breach.
The OAG report recognises the critical importance of having clear and detailed protocols for dealing with communication between Board members and clients.
We accept the conclusions and will incorporate all the OAG recommendations to ensure our practices, training and Governance Manual underpin and support sound governance practice. This includes how the Board and management address any allegations of improper conduct.
The Board is clear about its responsibility and has undertaken to implement the measures in the Auditor General’s report.
Both the Independent Review of ACC and the Auditor General’s report will form part of a programme of work against which ACC can be measured.
We have put in place a structure to lead this work, and we will engage external specialist advice to help plan and prioritise the work ahead of us.
ACC will work closely with the Privacy Commissioner to measure and monitor progress on implementing the recommendations which include regular public reporting of results.

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1208/S00352/acc-chair-on-independent-review-of-acc-privacy.htm

New ACC service and purchase agreement a reasonable start

A press release from the ACC Futures Coalition

The ACC Futures Coalition has welcomed the new ACC Service and Purchase Agreement, saying that it represents a reasonable start to the rebuilding process for ACC but pointing out that there is much to be done and also areas that the new agreement does not address.
“We think that the Minister has set out some good first steps,” said ACC Futures Coalition spokesperson Hazel Armstrong. “They should go a long way towards strengthening ACC as a public institution for the coming year. We welcome the emphasis on rebuilding public trust and confidence in ACC, but trust takes a long time to build and, as the corporation has just found out, can evaporate rather quickly. There is a strong focus on better service, which is important on a day-to-day basis, but better outcomes over a long period of time will be required to turnaround public perceptions.”
“We are not convinced that this document will deliver that on its own. For example, there is nothing in here on the need to use independent medical assessors and the emphasis is still on getting people off the scheme using vocational independence rather than a genuine return to work. Both these factors have contributed to claimant disillusionment with the scheme and need to be addressed.”
“The Agreement still also reflects the government’s commitment to full funding and has artificially high asset targets for the work and earners accounts, both of which will contribute to higher levies,” said Ms. Armstrong.
“However, there are other aspects that we see as very positive, including the commitment to more timely resolution of disputes and greater use of mediation without going to review. We welcome both of these moves.”
“The next challenge for the Minister will come when she decides on the replacements for the board members who have gone, because it is the board that will have to interpret the agreement and ensure that it is applied. Will she appoint a board that reflects the broad range of stakeholders and interests in ACC or will she stick with those who understand the money side but not ‘the broader responsibilities ACC has to all New Zealanders’ as the Minister’s press release put it? The initial response of Paula Rebstock today on Radio Live was not encouraging. All she seemed to want to focus on was the privacy question when the issues facing ACC go much deeper. We await the next steps with interest,” said Ms. Armstrong.

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1206/S00399/new-acc-service-and-purchase-agreement-a-reasonable-start.htm

ACC confirms testing for claimants

An article from the Dominion Post by Vernon Small

ACC's methods are again under the spotlight after it confirmed using "neuropsychological and psychological assessments" to help decide if claimants were being straightforward. That came to light yesterday after claims it uses "lie detector tests" to see if claimants are telling the truth.
Claimant Margaret Read told Radio New Zealand that ACC would not believe her statements of brain and spinal injuries, nor evidence from specialists, and applied a lie detector test.
An ACC spokeswoman declined to comment on an individual case, but said the no-fault insurer did not use lie detector tests.
Asked if any of its processes could be interpreted as a lie detector test, she said that was subjective. "What seems to be being referred to is the use of measures in neuropsychological and psychological assessments to provide some indication as to whether the client is presenting in a straightforward manner; that is, not under- or over-reporting their symptoms," she said.
"Neuropsychological assessments administer tests which look at the client's cognitive functioning (thinking functions such as language, attention, speed of thinking, memory, flexibility in thinking and problem solving skills)."
They were used to help indicate whether "clients are either minimising or exaggerating their emotional symptoms such as anxiety and depressive symptoms". This was also to determine whether the assessment results truly reflected a client's current emotional functioning.
When a client displayed evidence of a lack of effort, under-reporting or exaggeration of symptoms, ACC would try to determine why "and then provide the appropriate help the client needs to progress in their rehabilitation".
Labour ACC spokesman Andrew Little said he was "gob-smacked" by the practice, which was evidence of the distrust ACC had for claimants. "It sounds like lie-detecting to me."
Claimants' medical state was what mattered, not their personality. "They seem to be using criteria other than `is this person injured as a result of an accident?'."
Ms Read said she was asked to take a lie detector test to prove she did have spinal and brain injuries, which she passed. ACC still did not believe her and she took her battle to the courts.
"You feel absolutely shattered into tiny pieces, you keep saying `but I'm the person who's injured – why do I feel I'm being punished, why am I being bullied'."
ACC later backed down, and awarded Ms Read compensation. Taking the lie detector test had made her feel like a criminal, she said.
Lawyer John Miller, who specialises in ACC cases, said he was not aware of anyone undergoing lie detector tests at ACC. But part of the problem was that it was like an insurance company, asking so many questions people felt they were suspected of making things up, he said.
The attitude from ACC was that it was trying to minimise people's entitlements, rather than help them. "It's terrible if you're injured being at the mercy of some claims officer's views of you," he said.
ACC dealt quickly and efficiently with most people, but his clients were those at the hard end of the spectrum. "The more difficult claimants find they are treated badly by ACC and are perceived as exaggerating."
People viewed health problems they could not see with suspicion, and ACC claims officers were no different, he said.
An independent report into ACC privacy and security practices, sparked by the leak of confidential information to whistleblower Bronwyn Pullar, has been put back by two months. The inquiry, commissioned by the Privacy Commissioner and the ACC board, now has a deadline of August 23, instead of the end of this month, ACC interim chairwoman Paula Rebstock said yesterday.
The delay was caused by the volume of information that needed to be gathered and assessed.

© 2012 Fairfax New Zealand Ltd

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/7189884/ACC-confirms-testing-for-claimants

Interim board chair welcomes new priorities set for ACC

A press release from ACC

ACC’s interim Board Chair Paula Rebstock says ACC is a unique, no fault comprehensive Kiwi accident insurance scheme that we all pay for so people can get help if they have an accident.
“People expect and want us to be professional and respectful in the way we provide services to the public – that is what the Government’s priorities reflect and it’s the role of the ACC board and management to deliver that.”
The new priorities are:
• improved trust and confidence
• improved management and security of private information
• maintaining a focus on levy stability and financial sustainability
• providing high quality services for clients
• ensuring early resolution of disputes
• reporting on the performance of the accredited employer programme.

ACC has developed specific measures and performance targets relating to these priorities, which are outlined in the Service and Purchase Agreement 2012-15.
“The clear message in the Statement of Intent and the Service and Purchase Agreement is that there is a new set of priorities,” says Ms Rebstock.
“The Board and management of ACC understand we have to earn the trust and confidence of New Zealanders and we’re committed to doing that.”
Ms Rebstock says the way ACC manages people’s personal and private information is the subject of a large body of work that has only just begun, and there will be a lot more detail on that when the Privacy Commissioner and the Board complete the independent review of ACC systems and processes.
“We have been set some very clear targets and objectives to improve not only what we do, but how we do it.
“ACC is working to get better results for the injured, better support for levy payers and improve the relationship with the health sector. We will achieve this by investing equally in developing the capability of our people and supporting them with world class operating systems,” says Ms Rebstock.

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1206/S00389/interim-board-chair-welcomes-new-priorities-set-for-acc.htm

ACC rehabilitation plan announced

A press release from the Green Party by Kevin Hague

The Green Party has developed a rehabilitation plan to bring ACC back on track, Green Party health spokesperson Kevin Hague said today.
The step-by-step plan released today sets out the key action points that will bring about the culture change required at ACC. It includes reviewing the legislation and recent activities of ACC, but would also put in some systemic changes such as further security on sensitive claims information, retraining of front line staff, and bringing medical information back to a high level of priority in decision making.
“ACC needs to return to its original purpose: to provide a world class public service and honour the social contract it was founded on,” said Mr Hague.
“There are clear steps that need to be followed to get back on track; I’ve pulled together the key activities for the next 100 days.
“This rehabilitation plan prioritises the needs of the people making claims, as they should be at the heart of ACC’s work.
"Ms Rebstock, or any other chair who is appointed, is welcome to follow my plan to shape her work for the next few months.
“This plan sets out how to shift from a profit driven insurance model back to one that provides the level of care that injured and vulnerable New Zealanders need and should expect from now on.
“ACC is a great institution that has a proud history and still has some very good people working in it. It has, however, been on the wrong path.
“The Minister for ACC needs to seize this opportunity to return ACC to its founding principles and a culture of excellent public service; ready to work for New Zealanders,” said Mr Hague.

Additional information:
The Green Party ACC rehab plan

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1206/S00223/acc-rehabilitation-plan-announced.htm

More set to go in clearout at ACC

An article from the Dominion Post by John Hartevelt

A cleanout of the ACC board will continue with two more directors to be released from the top of the troubled state insurer. Chairman John Judge was effectively shown the door yesterday after political pressure over the Bronwyn Pullar case. The Dominion Post has learnt that his deputy, John McCliskie, and another director, Rob Campbell, will also be replaced. ACC Minister Judith Collins confirmed last night that the terms of five board members expired in March, and three would not be renewed.
"I think what you'll see is a change in direction. The fact is, we have board members whose terms have expired and I'm taking the opportunity to bring in people who I believe will be able to help change the direction," Ms Collins said.
New appointments to the board were pending approval from the responsible Cabinet committee. Government enforcer and existing director Paula Rebstock would act as chairwoman until a permanent appointment was made. Mr Judge and chief executive Ralph Stewart were called to a meeting in the Beehive yesterday morning, during which Mr Judge was told he would not be kept on the board.
Green MP Kevin Hague had called for Mr Judge to be sacked after appearing to mislead the public about a police complaint made by ACC about Ms Pullar. But Ms Collins rejected criticism of the police referral, and insisted Mr Judge had moved on because of a new role as chairman of ANZ National Bank. However, the departure of Mr Judge, Mr McCliskie and Mr Campbell will send a strong message to the board and the organisation.
Ms Collins has been embarrassed by a string of privacy blunders, headed off by revelations of the accidental release of details about 6752 claimants to Ms Pullar. There needed to be "a whole different way of looking at people", she said.
"I've got no problem with them getting people back to work, no problem with that at all – actually, that's what they need to do.
"It's all about rehabilitation. But I do expect people to be treated with professionalism, and a lack of professionalism is something I find very concerning."
A "change of direction", led from the board, would take privacy from "very low down on the pecking order" to "very much high up on the agenda".
"It's very hard for a monopoly trying to get people to treat your clients or your claimants as though you're in a competitive business, but that's what I feel that they need to."
Mr Hague said the change of board leader was an opportunity to steer ACC "back to its original role as the provider of full and fair compensation and rehabilitation to injured New Zealanders".
"Under its current board, ACC has turned away from those principles to ones more commonly seen in private sector insurance companies where the focus is on getting rid of long-term, expensive clients," Mr Hague said.
Ms Collins suggested a shift to electronic record-keeping had sparked some of the privacy problems.
"The situation has occurred where, if there were inappropriate comments put on hard-copy files, those were the sorts of things that might be removed at some stage when someone sensible looking at it thought `that's not sensible, let's take that off'. But you can't do that with electronic files – once it's there, it's there."
Ms Collins said she had seen a legal opinion prepared by Hugh Rennie, QC, for Mr Judge, which backed the decision to refer Ms Pullar to police over her refusal to return private details about thousands of other ACC claimants she was accidentally sent and blackmail claims.
"I don't know what else they could do, actually, on the information that they had. They had a situation where the claimant wasn't giving the information back to them at that stage...
"They had information that led them to believe that they had staff members who were being subject to extortion," she said.
"It's their decision but I believe that they would have made that decision honestly based on what they knew."
However, Mr Stewart had left "an unfortunate impression" that he had not heard a tape recording of the meeting in which Ms Pullar was alleged to have attempted extortion, Ms Collins said.

© 2012 Fairfax NZ News

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/7092148/More-set-to-go-in-clearout-at-ACC

Judge out, Rebstock in at ACC board

An article from the National Business Review by Rob Hosking

ACC Minister Judith Collins would only give a qualified endorsement of outgoing board chairman John Judge in the House today. Asked whether she had confidence in Mr Judge, Mrs Collins she had "full trust and confidence" in his handling of the ACC Corporation's financial affairs.
"I however reserve judgement on the privacy issues until after the Privacy Commissioner and Auditor General reports are available," she said, responding to questions from Green MP Kevin Hague.
Asked whether she was concerned about the lack of security of ACC's systems, which allow almost any ACC staffer to access personal medical files of any ACC claimant, including sensitive claims around sexual abuse, Mrs Collins gave a terse "yes" and sat down.
ACC board chairman John Judge – regarded by many as de facto CEO of the embattled corporation – is stepping down. Mr Judge was appointed by then-minister Nick Smith in March 2009 and his term actually expired in March this year. However, it was only today that ACC Minister Judith Collins announced Mr Judge was moving on.
The former Ernst and Young chief executive is to take over as chair of ANZ Bank in 11 days but will stay on at ACC until the end of the month “to complete the financial year at ACC”, Mrs Collins said.
Mr Judge also headed the government’s “stocktake” of ACC and was widely seen as a particularly “hands-on” chairman, at least until the chief executive changed at the end of last year with the appointment of former Axa New Zealand CEO Ralph Stewart.
He will be replaced, in an acting capacity, by the government’s go-to appointee for tough social sector jobs, former Commerce Commission chair Paula Rebstock.
Ms Rebstock headed the government’s welfare working group and is on the board of overseeing Work and Income New Zealand. She was also appointed last month to investigate the leaking of cabinet papers relating to the restructuring of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
The matter of leaked documents will feature prominently in her ACC role as well. The corporation has been in the eye of a storm about leaked confidential medical information and the ACC’s aggressive handling of long-term claims.

© 2012 NBR

http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/judge-out-rebstock-acc-board-rh-121043

Opportunity for ACC to return to its principles

A press release from the Green Party by Kevin Hague

The Green Party welcomes the appointment of a new ACC chair and looks forward to them steering ACC back to its original role as the provider of full and fair compensation and rehabilitation to injured New Zealanders.
The Government today appointed Paula Rebstock as interim chair and announced John Judge had resigned as of June 30.
“Ms Rebstock and any other chair who is appointed, is faced with a fantastic opportunity to return ACC to the five “Woodhouse” principles it was founded on in 1967,” Green Party ACC spokesman Kevin Hague said today. These were:

• Community responsibility
• Comprehensive entitlement
• Complete rehabilitation
• Real compensation
• Administrative efficiency.

“Under its current board, ACC has turned away from those principles to ones more commonly seen in private sector insurance companies where the focus is on getting rid of long term, expensive clients,” Mr Hague said,
“When ACC was established in 1974 New Zealanders agreed to trade their right to sue over injuries and accidents, for the guarantee they’d be compensated and rehabilitated through a model that provided cover for all, regardless of fault or cause of injury.
“New Zealanders only agreed to give away that right because of the promise they would be properly compensated and cared for.
“Today, ACC Minister Judith Collins told Parliament she was expecting a culture change at ACC and for it to help injured kiwis back to work.
“The Green Party will hold the Minister to those assurances. We look forward to ACC returning to the Woodhouse principals and offering the level of care injured and vulnerable New Zealanders need and should expect from now on,” Mr Hague said.

Transcript of discussion involving Denise Cosgrove, ACC GM Claims Management: http://www.greens.org.nz/sites/default/files/acc_transcript_-_cosgrove_and_frank.pdf

ACC issues paper discussing management of long term clients: http://www.greens.org.nz/sites/default/files/acc_executive_leadership_team_issues_paper.pdf

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1206/S00142/opportunity-for-acc-to-return-to-its-principles.htm