Last year, the ACC (Accident Compensation Corporation) financial situation came under the spotlight with the announcement of a $4.8 billion deficit.

That single year's result, which was more than all the finance company losses combined, took the corporation's total deficit (the difference between its assets and liabilities) to nearly $12.8 billion.

This year's forecast financial result shows a dramatic improvement, with an estimated surplus between $2.2-$2.6 billion. That is a very encouraging result. But it is just the start of the journey for ACC.

I say a journey because ACC's liabilities still exceed its assets by more than $10 billion - the equivalent of 2.5 years of levy income. It is vital that ACC continues to address this deficit and moves towards financial sustainability.

The deficit represents a major hole in ACC's ability to pay for the care that those already injured will need in the future. ACC's basic promise to all New Zealanders is that ACC will look after those who are injured. It is important that we have the funds to keep that promise.

There have been reports of scores of counsellors in small, disorganised herds like happy wildebeests, sitting around sunny resort pools in exotic locales sucking down tall beverages, practising My Way for the evening karaoke competition.

If you cup your hand to your ear, you can hear clumps of eight or nine of them belting it out with air mics near the shallow end. They're not stupid. They keep well away from the deep end.

They know what it feels like to be pushed in without a life preserver - and they hate watching people drown. All those years of trying to teach folks how to swim back into life are history now.