A hard-fought campaign to wind back tort reform in NSW won major political support last week – but the last-minute backing by the luckless state opposition on the eve of the state election was too little too late.

Although it achieved a significant swing, the Coalition looks like picking up only two seats from the incumbent ALP Government of Morris Iemma.

Lawyers have been running their “Fair Compensation” campaign since September last year, calling for an increase in benefit caps for workers’ compensation claims and motor vehicle injuries.

NSW Bar Association President Michael Slattery says the pendulum has swung too far and the compulsory workers’ compensation and third party motor vehicle insurance schemes have become too miserly.

“How many more injured people will it take for the Government to acknowledge that the 2002 changes to compensation laws are denying far too many people in this state access to fair compensation?” he asked.

The campaign attracted attention from the minor parties and independent parliamentarians. But it wasn’t until Thursday that the NSW Liberals got behind the movement.

Shadow Attorney-General Chris Hartcher vowed to refer the issue to the state’s Law Reform Commission as soon as the Coalition won government. He planned to ask it to come up with a way of increasing payouts without affecting premiums.

“The shortcomings in our present system show an enormous increase in insurance company receipts and a substantial decrease in the amount paid out,” he said. Which illustrates that Mr Hartcher doesn’t know much about how insurance companies make profits.

But Industrial Relations Minister John Della Bosca held the line by warning that increasing payouts will lead to higher costs for participating businesses.

“[Opposition leader] Peter Debnam doesn’t understand that caving in to the lawyers means premiums must rise very substantially or benefits must be slashed,” he said. And that would send the state’s WorkCover scheme spiralling back into deficit.

The election confirms the status quo, but Mr Slattery says lawyers will continue to agitate for reform in all possible forums. “The Government is now isolated in its indifference to a fair go for injured people in NSW,” he said.