Mr. John Newham:

To unpack that a little, when we hear of court cases where the awards hit the headlines in the newspapers — quite often, they hit them because they are exceptional — we should note that any judgments made by the courts currently are in respect of the old system, which relates to the book of quantum. They are not in respect of the personal injuries guidelines. This is part of the rationale supporting the introduction of the personal injuries guidelines. However, the Senator is right about one matter. It depends on whether the respondent is insured and whether he is representing himself or the insurance company is stepping into the role of respondent, which adds a different dimension. I say that because if the owner of the business is the respondent, the issue of liability might be more important to him or her. In a mediation process, the owner can engage with the claimant and have a discussion, whereas, currently, through an assessment process, it is all offsite, with PIAB making the assessment. The alternative is to proceed to litigation, which is through the lawyers. There is a counterargument in that situation because mediation does allow what I describe. If an owner in the circumstances in question rejects liability, a judgment is called for. There is only one person who can make a judgment, namely a judge. If the individual is insured, the insurance company will be taking other matters into consideration. It will be looking at the calculator and making a call on the risk associated with proceeding to litigation.