ACC Minister, Nick Smith fronted up outside Parliament to an angry mob of 6000 motorcycle enthusiasts incensed by ACC's proposal to hike their levies.
In response it would appear that the Government has backed off somewhat with Nick Smith reported as saying: "I've indicated to them that it's unlikely that the Government will agree to the scale of increase that the ACC board has recommended."
Whilst this is great news for middle aged fair weather Harley owners, it is unclear if this will add further to the proposed ACC increases for the productive sector.
Last week, according to the Tourism Industry Association (TIA), the accommodation sector is facing a levy hike of over 80%. Other "tourism operators" will also face substantial levy increases of between 30% and more than 100%.
Instead of rallying against hefty levy increases, questioning the Government's role in ACC and the ROI for its members, the TIA along with other trade associations have accepted that the tourism industry should absorb increases, albeit in a "staged" fashion.
It is unclear what position The Motel Association of NZ have taken?
It is frustrating and ironic that our industry trade groups that represent private enterprise businesses always seem to default to centralist ideals to solve their members' problems.
It would appear that the motorcycle fraternity have based their protest on the simple fact that it wasn't fair to be hit with such a large increase. Hardly a strong augment, however it is interesting that with some well organised and passionate leadership they have appeared to have had some success.
One is left to wonder what our industry trade associations could have achieved?
