The Government appears to have pleased no-one with its proposed law changes to help make ACC affordable.
ACC Minister Nick Smith said the levy increases proposed by ACC's board under the current law were too much for New Zealanders to pay.
"That is why the Government will be introducing law changes that more than halve the increases while securing ACC's long-term future."
Otago-Southland Employers Association chief executive John Scandrett said, although he was still digesting Dr Smith's announcement, the level of ACC recommended levy increases were nothing short of breathtaking.
"Within this economic environment, they will, if implemented at anywhere near the proposed levels, hit the commercial sector particularly hard."
Even if the Government introduced legislation to halve the increases sought by the corporation, the resulting increase would place an unprecedented burden on industry.
Otago Chamber of Commerce chief executive John Christie remained concerned about how affordable the new charges would be for some of his chamber members.
He expected members to read about the changes but not react fully until the first levies were received.
"As the rates come out for individual businesses, and they realise how much they paid last year and how much they will have to pay, then they will realise the full impact.
"It is not as though the issue has been fully addressed. You can't say that in five years from now we won't be faced with further substantial increases."
Mr Christie again deplored the lamentable state of ACC's accounts which recently reported a $4.8 billion loss for the 2009 year.
The loss came on top of a $2.4 billion loss in the previous year.
"The Government should be looking into the accountability of those who were making those decisions. We need to establish the facts clearly. It is not about politics. It is making sure those who made the decisions are held to account.
"In the private sector, you wouldn't survive with financial decisions made that way," he said.
Business New Zealand chief executive Phil O'Reilly said changes to achieve a more sustainable ACC were overdue.
The scheme had become less transparent as claim costs had escalated in recent years.
Reducing incentives for workplace safety, smoothing premiums, extending the payment period for residual claims and blurring the boundaries between ACC accounts and between injuries and diseases had all contributed to the blow-out in costs.
ACC had to be refocused towards its proper function as an insurance-based risk management scheme, and not allowed to drift towards becoming another overlapping social welfare scheme, Mr O'Reilly said.
Council of Trade Unions president Helen Kelly said introducing safety incentives for employers' ACC levies could be bad news for workers.
Enabling safety incentives could shift risk on to workers by offering inducements to employers.
"We have repeatedly pointed out that rewarding employers for lower claim rates only leads to accidents being covered up or disguised as non-work incidents," she said.
