The ACC Minister has defended New Zealand's new vehicle licensing system saying the Government will work through the problems affecting tens of thousands of cars.
Nikki Kaye. Photo: SUPPLIED
Nikki Kaye acknowledged there are problems with the new vehicle licensing system which she described as "technical issues", but she said they affect about one percent of the country's 2.7 million cars.
Ms Kaye said the vehicle licensing system was intended to ensure that those who drive the safest cars pay the least for their regos, while those who drive the least safe, pay the most but was aware of the weaknesses.
"Yeah, look we have these technical issues that we're dealing with, but overall we're very confident," Ms Kaye said.
"The Monash system data is used in a range of jurisdictions across Australia, we'll look at further enhancements through the levy consultation but overall we think there is integrity in the system."
But both the Labour Party's ACC spokesperson Sue Moroney and editor of the car review website Dog and Lemon Clive Matthew-Wilson said the new system was fatally flawed as it was based on bogus car safety data.
They slammed the Monash University data ACC was using, pointing out that cars with extremely poor crash test results were being classified as safe by ACC, while some that perform highly in crash tests were deemed dangerous.
They said not only have many drivers being over-charged for their regos, but ACC was misleading the public about the safety of vehicles, putting lives at risk.
ACC had already admitted overcharging more than 9000 people for their vehicle licenses - some by more than $100, by basing them on the wrong risk ratings for their vehicles.
Ms Moroney said the licensing system was flawed on multiple fronts.
Sue Moroney Photo: Supplied
"Well it means for about a million New Zealand motorists that they will be paying on average about $40 more in registration per year than they need to.
"And that is because the Minister has made a decision to go to a risk rating based system and it turns out the risk rating data she is using is fundamentally flawed," Ms Moroney said.
Mr Matthew-Wilson said the ACC vehicle registration system was "shameful".
"Not only are people paying the wrong levy, and probably poor people paying the wrong levy but it's quite likely people may have based buying decisions on that," he said.
" And a number of the vehicles which the Govenrment claims is safe on the ACC Levy Charter are death-traps and are provable death traps."
Mr Matthew-Wilson said he could not believe how flawed the Monash University data is that that ACC is using and that the only solution is for the Government to pull the plug.
