Rt Hon Sir Owen Woodhouse ONZ, KBE, DSC, 1916-2014
Sir Owen Woodhouse, the "father" of the ACC scheme, passed away on 15 April 2014. Below, we remember Sir Owen Woodhouse's generous contributions to past events organised by the ACC group.
Forty years on - a celebration of the Woodhouse Report
In December 2007, in conjunction with the Law School, the ACC Group held an event called “Forty years on”. In honour of this event, the ACC Group asked the University to digitise his famous 1967 report. It is now freely available to students and researchers.
View an online version of the Woodhouse report
The Rt Hon Sir Edmund "Ted" Thomas QC gave a tribute at this function. A copy of his paper is available to view in PDF format from the publications database.
Accident Compensation: Forty Years on symposium paper: Tribute to Sir Owen Woodhouse.
Other papers for the 2007 event are available in the New Zealand Law Review, Part 1, 2008.
The ACC debate - How do we pay for ACC?
In the late 1990s, it was decided that ACC should become fully pre-funded. In 2009 the ACC Group held a forum focused primarily on the merits of alternative methods of funding ACC, to ensure the survival of this unique social insurance scheme. Sir Owen attended and contributed to this function.
The future of ACC
Sir Owen also spoke at the ACC Group event held in conjunction with the Retirement Policy and Research Centre at the Business School on 26 August 2011. This event was titled ACC Forum: The future of ACC. The focus was “Is New Zealand in danger of losing both what is best about the ACC scheme and our place as a world leader in accident compensation? What can be done?”
Whenever asked, up to his mid-90s, Sir Owen Woodhouse always rose to the occasion. At the 2011 forum attended by over 100 people he was given a standing ovation after his address. It is up to us to make sure his legacy is protected for future generations.
Sir Owen Woodhouse also presented a paper at the forum, The ACC Concept.