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2008 N.Z. L. Rev. 3 (2008)
The Woodhouse Vision - 40 Years in Practice

handle is hein.journals/newzlndlr2008 and id is 15 raw text is: The Woodhouse Vision - 40 Years in Practice Ross WILSON* It is a great honour to be asked, as the current Chair of the Accident Com- pensation Corporation (the ACC) Board, to make a few opening comments at this symposium to mark that historic event 40 years ago today - the publication of the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry, Compensation for Personal Injury in New Zealand (the Woodhouse Report). The significance of its central recommendation, the abolition of the common law right to sue for personal injury, was best expressed by the editors of the American Journal of Comparative Law, where the implementation in 1974 of the Accident Compensation Act 1972 was described as an unparalleled event in our cultural history, the first casualty among the core legal institutions of the civilized world.' It was clearly seen as a ground- breaking reform from the beginning, and many of us in this room today have been involved, in various ways, in the life of this remarkable innovation. Today, we are privileged to be joined by the great man himself. This makes me more than a bit nervous, knowing his razor-sharp recollection for matters that I will probably be misreporting (unintentionally of course). But can I take the opportunity to pay my own humble tribute to Sir Owen Woodhouse: a great jurist, a great visionary, a humble and compassionate man, and a remarkable New Zealander. My first encounter with Sir Owen was in 1979. I can remember it very clearly. I had recently joined the National Union of Railwaymen and had been quoted in the Evening Post making some critical comment about the inadequacy of current ACC lump sum maxima. I was having morning tea the following day and took a telephone call in the tea room. Owen Woodhouse, a voice said. I was rendered speechless, momentarily. Was this a friend playing a joke, or was the President of the Court of Appeal really ringing me? Of course, it was not a hoax. As many will know, Sir Owen has maintained a lively interest in his reform over the past 40 years. I received my first tutorial by telephone that day on the merits *Chair, Accident Compensation Corporation Board. 1 Fleming & Drobny, A Word from the Editors (1973) 21 Am J Comp L xi. See also Palmer, Compensation for Personal Injury: A Requiem for the Common Law in New Zealand (1973) 21 Am J Comp L 1.

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