Our learned friends have sent in their thoughts on the vexed issue of CTP reform in Canberra:
Politics is distorting the facts about third party insurance as the major parties rush to claim the high ground as the guardians of the cost of living.
The facts are that the Road Transport (Third-Party Insurance) Amendment Bill 2011, which will shortly be debated in the Legislative Assembly, will not reduce insurance premiums for ACT motorists.
But it will dramatically increase the cost of living for people injured in motor vehicle accidents.
The legislation cuts compensation entitlements for:
• The most seriously injured people, and
• Pain and suffering in 90% of cases.It does nothing to promote rehabilitation.
Car owners shouldn’t have to subsidise a more profitable market for insurance companies.
One has to hope that the National Disability Insurance Scheme will take up some of the slack here?