End the Northen Territory MAC ACT - End the No Fault Law: Give Victims Compensation
End the Northen Territory MAC ACT - End the No Fault Law: Give Victims Compensation
The Issue
The Northern Territory has a perverse no-fault law for vehicle collisions/crashes. This means even with proven criminal guilt a person or company cannot be held liable for their actions in a civil court of law for an act on the NT roads involving a vehicle.
They are instead placed on a No-Fault Scheme known as the NT TIO a near criminally run scheme whose sole purpose is to deny claimants the right to medical provisions outlined in the act. The act provides a small stipend (barely a living wage) and medical treatment costs. There is zero compensation.
The current provider of this government scheme is Allianz; whose sole purpose is to run the scheme for profit by denying care and treatment. Allianz currently makes a profit from the scheme: it made a profit of $106.8m in the 2022–23 financial year.
Profit from the suffering, death, disability, and impairment of victims on NT roads.
I, Joshua Clements, was involved in a fatal crash in the NT that has left me with numerous disabilities, PTSD and other physical/mental injuries. The passenger in front of us was crushed to death on his 40th wedding anniversary at just the age of 69. At best his widow received a payout of no more than $160Kaud. Having consulted numerous law firms if this crime/crash had occurred in NSW we would be looking at a multimillion-dollar payout and settlement. Due to this archaic/cruel law, the human right to bring another individual/company for wrongdoing in a court of law is prohibited. This is something you would expect in a Dictatorship, not a Democratic country such as Australia.
The MAC Commissioner has William Oliver publically lied about the scheme saying:
"The MAC scheme provides universal benefits for life, regardless of the severity of the accident or who was at fault," he said. This is a lie.
We can provide evidence of this by way of the TIO Allianz refusing to confirm the comment as true and by the opinion given by a solicitor with expert knowledge of the scheme that the statement is "completely false".
We Demand the Following in this Petition:
- The repeal of the MAC ACT.
- A 1-year retrospective/retroactive statute allowing all past claimants of, or not on, the TIO Scheme to bring/begin/make a civil lawsuit against 'any and all' - people or business or organisations including company/individual/insurer or any applicable body that was or could be found to be at fault for a crash in the NT since the inception of the MAC ACT. Noting the success of a similar scheme for survivors of sexual abuse in the state of New York in the USA. Survivors of crimes on NT roads deserve a similar justice.
- A sliding scale approach to people currently on the MAC TIO scheme where they are maintained on the scheme for a period of 5 years, regardless of compensation, to allow them to transition safely to alternative care. This scheme will return to the NT Government for administration rather than the profiteering and disgraceful/law-breaking administrators currently in Allianz.
- Allianz be stripped of its role, with no compensation, as provider of the MAC ACT and a full inquiry set to investigate the conduct of Allianz in their operation of the scheme. Noting Allianz has been guilty of numerous failures, unlawful conduct, denying care due, failing to provide a proper complaint procedure, hiring unfit personnel, and poor treatment of people on the scheme; if found guilty of any of the above by such an inquiry then a law be passed that Allianz must surrender all profit ever made, plus interest, from the TIO scheme and that this be returned to the NT Government for the provision of providing road safety.
- That fines from WorkSafe or any criminal proceedings of a road/vehicle crash be divided according to the scale of injury to the victims of that crash. Regardless of any awards set by a civil trial in any specific case. This will also apply retroactively.
- Road safety laws be examined and toughened in the NT*. Businesses currently need not look or be bothered by road safety as they never have to provide compensation or medical costs for passengers they harm. *The incoming Chief Minister of the NT, Lia Finocchiaro, has said controversially that to tackle crime she will lower the criminal age of responsibility to 11. Will she not take a stand against crimes on the NT roads?
In our case, (Joshua Clements), the weak road safety laws mean that at this point the company who sent out his tour group in a deathtrap, knowingly modifying the vehicle to make it unsafe, is at most looking at a penalty of a fine. No custodial sentence is possible. An employer is facing a different tier of justice than a working person or driver; despite the crime being committed repeatedly. The death trap of a tour bus was sent out for 3-4 months before its catastrophic and fatal failure. A crime committed nearly 100 times. A fine is the most they will encounter. Compare this to the Hunter Valley Crash where the driver, who committed a horrendous crime whilst saddled with addiction and of unsound mind, has been justly sentenced to 24 years in prison.
Patrick Bedford the owner of the Tour Bus and tour business Emu Run knowingly sent a death-trap bus out which killed a passenger on June 6th 2022, and permanently harmed many others, including the writer and author of this petition. Patrick Bedford has remained inexplicably, to all humans of good character, as Chair of the Central Australian Tourism Body, and remains Chair despite being charged by WorkSafe in regards to this crash. This prosecution is ongoing. This body includes the Mayor of Alice Springs and other high-profile NT government stakeholders. We allege a 'boys-club' mentality exists whereby those in the NT are protecting each other from criminal courts; and in full knowledge that civil courts cannot address the harm they cause.
In Joshua Clements' case, the insurer for Emu Run is Allianz. The same company perversely denies him care, like many others, and makes a profit from it. Joshua Clements cannot sue the insurer of Emu Run or Emu Run and is instead making Allianz money by being on the TIO scheme.
If this situation was in NSW Joshua Clements and the other passengers of the crimes of Emu Run would most be bringing a class action civil lawsuit against Emu Run and their liability insurer Allianz. Instead, Allianz is profiting from their grief, their disability, their pain.
Australia has a road casualty rate double Norway, the highest-ranked country in the OECD, you are twice as likely to die on a road in Australia than in Norway. One of the wealthiest nations on earth, Australia, ranks 18th out of 31 countries. This can only be changed if those guilty of making our roads unsafe our held to account in criminal and civil cases.
From the NT NEWS:
Joshua Clements, who alongside his partner Elysse Lloyd suffered
life-changing injuries in the fatal tour bus crash at Hermannsberg in June
2022, said his experience with the scheme had been nothing short of
nightmarish, leaving he and his partner feeling at times suicidal.
“The crash has had a catastrophic effect on our lives, with both of us losing our employment, both having multiple surgeries, I [had] spinal fusion surgery in late May due to the injuries from the crash, which as mentioned broke several bones in my spine. We both have PTSD and panic attacks from the crash.”
The pair (Joshua Clements' and his partner) said they feel as though TIO has fought them every step of the way, with two episodes standing out.
The first was a refusal to commit to paying for Mr Clements’ spinal fusion
surgery, which he said had been recommended by one of Australia’s top
doctors, Dr Kirsty Hamilton, until after the fact.
For Ms Lloyd, the episode that stuck worst in her craw was when TIO allegedly
contacted her physiotherapist to suggest Ms Lloyd scale back to one
appointment a week and instead go to the gym.
“With every single issue you have, there’s some hurdle you need to jump over,”
Ms Lloyd said. Mr Clements agreed.
Relevant Links:
https://vocal.media/criminal/fatal-bus-crash-survivor-an-open-letter-to-the-nt
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-07-24/darwin-motor-accident-crash-compensation-claim/102630712
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-05-23/nt-tourism-operator-charged-over-fatal-bus-crash/103885862
https://www.insurancenews.com.au/breaking-news/allianz-to-buy-tio (2014)
1,723
The Issue
The Northern Territory has a perverse no-fault law for vehicle collisions/crashes. This means even with proven criminal guilt a person or company cannot be held liable for their actions in a civil court of law for an act on the NT roads involving a vehicle.
They are instead placed on a No-Fault Scheme known as the NT TIO a near criminally run scheme whose sole purpose is to deny claimants the right to medical provisions outlined in the act. The act provides a small stipend (barely a living wage) and medical treatment costs. There is zero compensation.
The current provider of this government scheme is Allianz; whose sole purpose is to run the scheme for profit by denying care and treatment. Allianz currently makes a profit from the scheme: it made a profit of $106.8m in the 2022–23 financial year.
Profit from the suffering, death, disability, and impairment of victims on NT roads.
I, Joshua Clements, was involved in a fatal crash in the NT that has left me with numerous disabilities, PTSD and other physical/mental injuries. The passenger in front of us was crushed to death on his 40th wedding anniversary at just the age of 69. At best his widow received a payout of no more than $160Kaud. Having consulted numerous law firms if this crime/crash had occurred in NSW we would be looking at a multimillion-dollar payout and settlement. Due to this archaic/cruel law, the human right to bring another individual/company for wrongdoing in a court of law is prohibited. This is something you would expect in a Dictatorship, not a Democratic country such as Australia.
The MAC Commissioner has William Oliver publically lied about the scheme saying:
"The MAC scheme provides universal benefits for life, regardless of the severity of the accident or who was at fault," he said. This is a lie.
We can provide evidence of this by way of the TIO Allianz refusing to confirm the comment as true and by the opinion given by a solicitor with expert knowledge of the scheme that the statement is "completely false".
We Demand the Following in this Petition:
- The repeal of the MAC ACT.
- A 1-year retrospective/retroactive statute allowing all past claimants of, or not on, the TIO Scheme to bring/begin/make a civil lawsuit against 'any and all' - people or business or organisations including company/individual/insurer or any applicable body that was or could be found to be at fault for a crash in the NT since the inception of the MAC ACT. Noting the success of a similar scheme for survivors of sexual abuse in the state of New York in the USA. Survivors of crimes on NT roads deserve a similar justice.
- A sliding scale approach to people currently on the MAC TIO scheme where they are maintained on the scheme for a period of 5 years, regardless of compensation, to allow them to transition safely to alternative care. This scheme will return to the NT Government for administration rather than the profiteering and disgraceful/law-breaking administrators currently in Allianz.
- Allianz be stripped of its role, with no compensation, as provider of the MAC ACT and a full inquiry set to investigate the conduct of Allianz in their operation of the scheme. Noting Allianz has been guilty of numerous failures, unlawful conduct, denying care due, failing to provide a proper complaint procedure, hiring unfit personnel, and poor treatment of people on the scheme; if found guilty of any of the above by such an inquiry then a law be passed that Allianz must surrender all profit ever made, plus interest, from the TIO scheme and that this be returned to the NT Government for the provision of providing road safety.
- That fines from WorkSafe or any criminal proceedings of a road/vehicle crash be divided according to the scale of injury to the victims of that crash. Regardless of any awards set by a civil trial in any specific case. This will also apply retroactively.
- Road safety laws be examined and toughened in the NT*. Businesses currently need not look or be bothered by road safety as they never have to provide compensation or medical costs for passengers they harm. *The incoming Chief Minister of the NT, Lia Finocchiaro, has said controversially that to tackle crime she will lower the criminal age of responsibility to 11. Will she not take a stand against crimes on the NT roads?
In our case, (Joshua Clements), the weak road safety laws mean that at this point the company who sent out his tour group in a deathtrap, knowingly modifying the vehicle to make it unsafe, is at most looking at a penalty of a fine. No custodial sentence is possible. An employer is facing a different tier of justice than a working person or driver; despite the crime being committed repeatedly. The death trap of a tour bus was sent out for 3-4 months before its catastrophic and fatal failure. A crime committed nearly 100 times. A fine is the most they will encounter. Compare this to the Hunter Valley Crash where the driver, who committed a horrendous crime whilst saddled with addiction and of unsound mind, has been justly sentenced to 24 years in prison.
Patrick Bedford the owner of the Tour Bus and tour business Emu Run knowingly sent a death-trap bus out which killed a passenger on June 6th 2022, and permanently harmed many others, including the writer and author of this petition. Patrick Bedford has remained inexplicably, to all humans of good character, as Chair of the Central Australian Tourism Body, and remains Chair despite being charged by WorkSafe in regards to this crash. This prosecution is ongoing. This body includes the Mayor of Alice Springs and other high-profile NT government stakeholders. We allege a 'boys-club' mentality exists whereby those in the NT are protecting each other from criminal courts; and in full knowledge that civil courts cannot address the harm they cause.
In Joshua Clements' case, the insurer for Emu Run is Allianz. The same company perversely denies him care, like many others, and makes a profit from it. Joshua Clements cannot sue the insurer of Emu Run or Emu Run and is instead making Allianz money by being on the TIO scheme.
If this situation was in NSW Joshua Clements and the other passengers of the crimes of Emu Run would most be bringing a class action civil lawsuit against Emu Run and their liability insurer Allianz. Instead, Allianz is profiting from their grief, their disability, their pain.
Australia has a road casualty rate double Norway, the highest-ranked country in the OECD, you are twice as likely to die on a road in Australia than in Norway. One of the wealthiest nations on earth, Australia, ranks 18th out of 31 countries. This can only be changed if those guilty of making our roads unsafe our held to account in criminal and civil cases.
From the NT NEWS:
Joshua Clements, who alongside his partner Elysse Lloyd suffered
life-changing injuries in the fatal tour bus crash at Hermannsberg in June
2022, said his experience with the scheme had been nothing short of
nightmarish, leaving he and his partner feeling at times suicidal.
“The crash has had a catastrophic effect on our lives, with both of us losing our employment, both having multiple surgeries, I [had] spinal fusion surgery in late May due to the injuries from the crash, which as mentioned broke several bones in my spine. We both have PTSD and panic attacks from the crash.”
The pair (Joshua Clements' and his partner) said they feel as though TIO has fought them every step of the way, with two episodes standing out.
The first was a refusal to commit to paying for Mr Clements’ spinal fusion
surgery, which he said had been recommended by one of Australia’s top
doctors, Dr Kirsty Hamilton, until after the fact.
For Ms Lloyd, the episode that stuck worst in her craw was when TIO allegedly
contacted her physiotherapist to suggest Ms Lloyd scale back to one
appointment a week and instead go to the gym.
“With every single issue you have, there’s some hurdle you need to jump over,”
Ms Lloyd said. Mr Clements agreed.
Relevant Links:
https://vocal.media/criminal/fatal-bus-crash-survivor-an-open-letter-to-the-nt
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-07-24/darwin-motor-accident-crash-compensation-claim/102630712
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-05-23/nt-tourism-operator-charged-over-fatal-bus-crash/103885862
https://www.insurancenews.com.au/breaking-news/allianz-to-buy-tio (2014)
1,723
The Decision Makers
Supporter Voices
Petition created on 13 October 2024