Federated Farmers GM Policy & Advocacy Gavin Forrest penned this personal reflection on the late Sir Hon Dr Michael Cullen, who passed away on 19 August 2021.
Over my 30-plus years of experience in dealing with MPs and Ministers from the full spectrum of parties I have met some memorable characters. Some perhaps for reasons they would probably not appreciate.
One of these Ministers who deserves a special mention was Sir Michael Cullen. For me, a defining moment of the respect I gained for him was when he was ACC Minister.
When the Shipley National Government moved accident compensation from a Government monopoly to the private market in 1999, the ACC corporation needed to close off its books. What very few people knew was that some businesses were paying in advance and some were paying in arrears. This had come about as from 1980 new businesses paid in arrears and pre-1980 businesses continued paying in advance.
In 1999 arrears paying businesses faced two annual accident compensation bills – one from ACC and one from their private provider, while others were ‘all square’ with ACC.
To make matters worse a number of ACC levy payers that had been in business before 1980 and had restructured their businesses after 1980 were treated as paying in arrears not in advance and were sent a bill by ACC for the 1998/99 year. Some farmers got caught and approached Feds. ACC dug its heels in and refused to recognise they were, to use the words of the Minister later on, “double billing” businesses.
Feds took a case to an independent review on behalf of a Taranaki farmer. The hearing did not appear to be going well until I asked ACC, through the reviewer, if it was true that ACC was requiring Mr X to pay 13 years’ premium for 12 years of cover. Each time ACC refused to answer. We won of course.
ACC was not going to take this lying down and gave notice it was going to appeal the case to the Courts.
That’s where Michael Cullen stepped in as ACC Minister.
Federated Farmers requested and got a meeting with the Minister. The then National President, the late Alistair Polson, and I went to see Sir Michael and soon after giving one of his typical dry-witted jibes asked how he could help. And help he did.
Despite ACC’s strong protests, the Minister intervened and did what was right. To use the words of his 20 March 2001 media statement he moved quickly to “recognise premium payers’ interests” and “rather than a further case going through the courts, ACC will be guided by court decisions to date and the natural justice principle that people shouldn’t pay twice for the same service.”
Sir Michael’s signature policies of KiwiSaver and the NZ Superannuation Fund (aka ‘The Cullen Fund’) are well known. Yet it is stories like this, where he made a real difference on a day-to-day basis and held his department to account, are what in my opinion truly measures the calibre of Sir Michael.