Injured police have received only a tiny fraction of an annual $100 million that the O’Farrell government has wasted on a privatised death and disability insurance scheme they established in 2011. See the report in the SMH here.
The analysis of the failed police insurance scheme comes from figures released by the NSW auditor general. In the 2012/2013 financial year the NSW government paid the insurer TAL $99.9 million for insurance for injured police, but the insurer paid out only a total of $133,471 in actual claims.
The average payment to injured police fell from approximately $480,000 under the old scheme to just $19,067 under the new scheme.
Greens MP and Police Spokesperson, David Shoebridge said:
“This is a comprehensive policy failure by the O’Farrell government and it is injured police who are paying the highest cost.
“This $100 million insurance premium should have gone to assist injured police, instead 99.8% of the payments has lined the pockets of just one insurer.
“The government’s ideological drive to privatise the police death and disability scheme at any cost has seen taxpayers and police lose out while the insurance industry is once again laughing all the way to the bank.
“The Police Minister must be held accountable for a scheme that has seen $100 million in taxpayer funds essential flushed down the toilet.
“Instead of putting such a vast amount of money into a failed insurance policy the government should have put that money aside for genuine assistance to injured police.
“Instead the government appears to have learned nothing from the 2012/13 disaster and has bungled ahead this year and purchased exactly the same failed policy for the same inflated price.
“Injured police have every right to feel betrayed by this government that on one hand keeps talking up their role, but with the other cuts their benefits and wastes the scarce funds put aside to protect them.
“Injured police, just like all other injured workers in NSW, have become politically expendable for this government who’s only focus is on limiting overall payments, regardless of the final impact on those who need assistance,” Mr Shoebridge said.