The plan by New Zealand’s major opposition National Party to once again privatise the Accident Compensation Commission (ACC) continues to attract plenty of heated debate. Now a leaked email from Insurance Council of New Zealand CEO Chris Ryan to member companies has turned things even nastier.

With the National Party overtaking Prime Minister Helen Clark’s Labor Party in the opinion polls leading up to the September 17 election, Miss Clark has seized on the existence of the email as proof that the National Party and the insurers have a “hidden agenda” over the ACC’s future.

Mr Ryan’s email says the details of the National Party’s policy were deliberately kept out of its ACC policy announcement. It says National’s policy would be “very positive for the industry, particularly the scope of the competition across all accounts”.

Miss Clark says New Zealanders “need to be told what the insurance industry stands to gain and what ordinary Kiwis stand to lose as a result of this collusion”.

Mr Ryan, an experienced political operator, isn’t ducking for cover even as the National Party denies any agreement exists with the insurers. He told the NZ Herald newspaper his understanding is that the details were deliberately removed from the announcement because they would have to be discussed with any minor party prepared to form a coalition with the Nationals.

He says the excised details included how far the privatisation would go, whether there would be an independent disputes tribunal, the role of the ACC and the privatisation timeframe.

ACC Minister Ruth Dyson says people need to know how far National intends privatising the ACC, and whose interests it is serving. “Privatisation would be good for private insurance companies – as Chris Ryan says in his memo – but it’s not good for ordinary New Zealanders.”