But first, employers wanted the new ACC board to remove uncertainty surrounding occupational health and safety rules, levy transparency and the full funding of residual claims.
"We don't want ACC turning into a social welfare scheme. I am confident once they have tidied all that up, then we can move forward with a conversation about potential competition to ACC," he said.
ACC Minister Judith Collins announced Paula Rebstock would become chairwoman of ACC. The other new board members were Trevor Janes, appointed as deputy chairman, Des Gorman and Kristy McDonald. All had been appointed for three-year terms.
A fourth new member had been identified and would start early next year, bringing the board up to its full membership of eight, with existing board members Jill Spooner, John Meehan and Jane Huria.
Ms Collins said the appointments underlined the Government's commitment to genuine culture change and would lead to a more balanced and comprehensive approach to the governance and operation of ACC.
The Government's priorities for ACC also included maintaining a focus on levy stability and financial sustainability, providing high-quality services for claimants and clients and ensuring early resolution of disputes, she said.
Mr O'Reilly said the new board looked "fit for purpose" and he was sure business people would welcome the clear strategy outlined by Ms Collins.
The ranks of ACC's board and executives were purged in the fallout of privacy breaches that came to light because of the case of ACC claimant and National Party stalwart Bronwyn Pullar, whose supporters included former National Party president Michelle Boag and former ACC minister Nick Smith, who resigned as a cabinet minister because of the breaches.
In a bitter attack on the new appointments, Labour ACC spokesman Andrew Little said ACC was crying out for stable, moderate and inclusive leadership.
The new ACC board was hardly a change in culture with Ms Rebstock as chairwoman.
"You have to wonder exactly what sort of culture the Government is now promoting within the organisation," he said.
"Unfortunately, today's appointments show a sharp lurch to the right and a deepening of the disentitlement culture. So much for Judith Collins' claims she wanted more diverse representation on the board.
"Where is the voice of the 2.4 million wage and salary earners who pay ACC levies?"
Mr Little said Ms Rebstock's track record demonstrated no empathy or understanding of the social insurance ACC represented.
Given Ms Collins said former chairman John Judge was stepping down as he could be busy with his new role as chairman of ANZ, it was noteworthy that Ms Rebstock held 12 positions.
"Professor Gorman has been a senior medical adviser to ACC for many years and has given some of the most retrograde advice on claimants' files I've known. He was the subject of many complaints over his advice about occupational overuse syndrome in the 1990s."
While the publicity material did not mention it, Mr Janes was a director of the corporation at the time it was being lined up for privatisation by National in the late 1990s, Mr Little said.
"These appointments inspire no confidence at all and claimants are entitled to feel uneasy," he said.
ACC appointments
• Paula Rebstock is chairwoman of the Work and Income Board, deputy chairwoman of the New Zealand Railways Corporation, chairwoman of the Insurance and Savings Ombudsman Commission and a member of the ACC Board.
• Trevor Janes is an experienced director and chairman and has been employed in senior management roles. He is chairman of the Public Trust and is self-employed as a financial adviser and consultant in the public and private sectors including in the areas of banking, equity markets and debt financing.
• Des Gorman is head of the Auckland School of Medicine and associate dean, and has doctorates in medicine and philosophy.
He has extensive medical knowledge across a number of specialties including brain injury, occupational medicine, and toxicology.
• Kristy McDonald QC has practised criminal, public and constitutional, and administrative law during her career. Ms McDonald has served as chairwoman of the Mental Health Review Tribunal for 10 years, and has acted as legal assessor to the NZ Medical Council, Dentists' Disciplinary Tribunal, Psychologists' Board, and the NZ Nursing Council.
