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May 21st, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda A “lump-sum culture” has emerged in the NSW workers compensation scheme and tinkering at its edges won’t solve problems behind a $4.1 billion deficit, a parliamentary inquiry has heard.
The NSW government wants to overhaul WorkCover to arrest the deficit, saying premiums will skyrocket by 28 per cent unless it takes action.
Speaking on the first day of hearings to consider changes to the workers compensation regime, WorkCover executive Geniere (Geniere) Aplin said the scheme was unsustainable and needed urgent reform.
Ms Aplin said good compensation schemes were reformed at least every five years – and WorkCover hadn’t been touched in ten years.
Tinkering with premiums and benefits would not go far enough, she added.
“If you look at scheme design around financial incentive and disincentive, and compare NSW to other schemes in Australia, does it have an optimal benefit design to support people to return to work?” she asked.
“I would question that.
Instead, she said a “lump-sum culture” was emerging.
“Injured workers are staying off work longer, more injured workers are receiving lump-sum benefits than before,” Ms Aplin said.
“It is vital that this scheme does its job for this state and supports injured workers into the future, as well as employers. For the scheme to be sustainable, it must ensure that injured workers are returned to work in a timely fashion.”
A consultant to WorkCover, Michael Playford of PricewaterhouseCoopers, told the inquiry workers were not to blame for the cultural shift.
All parties, including those in the legal and medical professions, were contributing to the change, he said.
“That’s why we use the term lump-sum culture,” he said.
The NSW Business Chamber said if premiums increased by 28 per cent, 12,600 jobs and job opportunities could be lost across the state.
Also complaining of the increased duration of claims and of a growing culture of seeking lump sum payouts, the Chamber’s workplace solutions general manager Greg Pattison said “increasing premiums might balance the books but they don’t fix the problem”.
“Increasing premiums will have an impact on jobs and job opportunities in NSW.
“Tinkering at the edges might give some short-term effect but only for a limited time.”
Unions NSW secretary Mark Lennon disputed jobs would be lost if premiums were raised, saying the Chamber’s argument had “little credibility”.
Unions have accused the government of harbouring plans to slash benefits to injured workers, and will hold a rally outside state parliament on June 13 – the day the parliamentary committee’s report on WorkCover is due to be handed down.
“Since 2005, premiums have come down by almost one third,” Mr Lennon said.
“Independent analysis shows that workers compensation premiums have very little effect on where businesses establish themselves.”
Unions will appear before the inquiry on Friday.
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