With the NSW election three weeks away, NSW Bar Association President Michael Slattery and Premier Morris Iemma have become embroiled in a heated exchange on whether tort reforms should be wound back.

Mr Slattery has been waiting for the immediate pre-election period to make his move. He says new figures show the NSW Government’s WorkCover scheme will have a $3.3 billion surplus in the next four years, thanks to diminished payouts. Mr Iemma says the reforms will stay, and he will not consider changes that would put more money in the hands of lawyers.

It’s a tough argument for the lawyers to resist. Mr Iemma says the reforms have saved the workers’ compensation system from collapse and that employees are better off.

“These changes have put more money in the pockets of injured workers and less in the pockets of lawyers,” he said. The industry awaits round two with interest.