"There are 800,000 Kiwis classified as obese and, even if you discount the All Blacks' front row, whose BMIs would technically place them in that category, that means a lot of misery, a lot of health problems and a whole lot of money being gobbled up by the health budget.

Heart disease, diabetes, strokes, cancer, arthritis and breathing problems are just some of the issues associated with obesity.

When it comes to calculating the cost of obesity-related illness, we don't have any up-to-date figures but the World Health Organisation estimates the cost to be 7 per cent of a country's health budget." Kerre Woodham

Ok! So what? Should people who are obese pay an "obese" tax to? Are we supposed to follow along like the good sheep most Kiwi's are and shrug our shoulders..

Well after all the Government makes the rules! Why should they not tax fat people... Lets be fair it a user pays system now!

Likewise the government had made up its mind to increase ACC levies... We have no option but to "swallow the cost.."

Similarly if you are a victim of an accident and now receiving  ACC "assistance"?   government legislation has made you a second class citizen.

For example... You are branded as being "non compliant"  because you use your rights under the health information act to not undertake a Functional Capacity Evaluation test. 

• ACC believes it has the right to make a claimant undergo a test that has not been peer reviewed and that has not been published in any respectable medical/industry journal!
• Yet alone been peer reviewed! published and authenticated by any "governing body"

Non standard, highly "subjective" FCE's are often carried out by Physiotherapists and even Occupational therapists.

Long live the ACC system. "No fault, no responsibility".  aka "if we cant fix you we'll break you. One way way or the other".