Had a good launch of our Health policy yesterday. The full policy runs to nearly 30 pages. You can find all the details here. From my point of view it was the culmination of a hectic nine months or so that I have had the portfolio. I have listened to health professionals and service users all over the country, and this is the result.
I make no apology for the focus on prevention and more affordable primary healthcare, especially for children. That is how we will help New Zealanders stay healthy, and avoid the need for more expensive treatment further down the track. You will see that in our list of priorities, finding efficiencies in the system is high up the list, because it is essential we do that. We also can not ignore the cuts to services that have occured because the funding has fallen behind inflation and population growth.
In any case, here is a story from Checkpoint last night that covers some of the reaction to the story. I am really pleased the focus on dental health has been picked up.
You guys cannot catch a break, can you? The Andrea Vance Stuff story on the Tory ‘health policy’ screams “A second term National government will cut waiting times for elective surgery from six months to four by 2014″. Down the story, it simply notes that the extra money would be allocated “from the health budget”. In other words, by magic. Mind, her other story is a heart-warming piece on Key’s visit to a prawn farm, complete with sweet photos and humourous asides with the media pack. The Goff story says that “Labour’s thinly-veiled attacks on Prime Minister John Key have continued today with leader Phil Goff bringing up the subject of Hawaiian holidays.” Of course, the qualifying “thinly-veiled” only appears if you click on the story, other wise it just says “Labour’s attacks on Key”. Looks to me like the media pack has decided that you guys are going to get a thrashing at the polls this year, and Key will get an absolute majority, and they will make damn sure of it.
Jennifer is right. The main stream media pack (in general anyway) consist of a bunch of politically shallow, supercilious brats. They will get their come-uppance in due course. Types like them invariably do.
The Key plastic bubble is going to burst in a big way over the next year or two and together with the worsening global situation (caused by the ‘John Keys’ of this world), New Zealand will be deep in donkey doo… and few solid financial assets to help cushion the blows.
I see the timescale’s changed.
It always used to be ‘they’re going to get their come uppance at the election’…
@ old George,
When was this said?
passim
Labour’s Health policy -I wonder at the wisdom of offering free dental care to pregnant women – I hope any remedial work requiring drugs etc will be on offer only after they have had their babies. There are so many issues around health and education that Labour have not raised – missed opportunities to make capital against National.
Somebody may have said it somewhere OldGoerge but it wasn’t me.
@ Old George, did Crosby Testor teach you that diversion or is it in the Tory handbook? Fact is, the MSM is so grossly biased toward the Tories that they make Fox News look ‘fair and balanced’.
@jennifer – “MSM biased towards the Tories”? That makes a change. A change from when their Middle East stories invariably had the Fakestinians as the “good guys” (you know, the ones firing rockets into Israel), and Israel as the “bad guys”.
Oh well, never mind. I’ll have a Speight’s in hand on election night, and I’ll make sure I sing “The People’s Flag” for you. Three more years…
Accepted.
‘Things will soon change when people realise what they’ve let themselves in for…’ has been a common theme in postings on this blog for months, though.
Again the similarities with the UK 1979 to 1997 is stunning.
“You will see that in our list of priorities, finding efficiencies in the system is high up the list, because it is essential we do that.”
Its amazing how Labour have just miraculously discovered that efficiency is important over the last couple of months when you have spent the last three years arguing against any type of cuts.
Prime News update: ‘and Phil Goff has launched another personal attack on Prime Minister John Key, this time over his Hawaiian holiday.’
The Nats shorten the waiting lists by making it harder to get on one. Radio NZ had an interview with surgeons at the Charity hospitals (yes we have three of them) and they can tell when a DHB or ACC tightens the criteria and kicks people off their waiting or eligibility lists because the GP then has to refer the patient to the charity hospital and their waiting lists grows, while the patient’s condition worsens. The eventual operation then comes of out the scarce pool of fundraised dollars, rather than the health budget.
So this National policy is all smoke and mirrors.
“The Nats shorten the waiting lists by making it harder to get on one. ” This is a common “trick” by all parties and it extends to messing with unemployment figures too. No party is clean on this one. I know for some this makes them question whether I am the “original” Tracey, but I am, and it’s because I try hard to find the facts.
Is it true that labour would bring alcohol costs up to $2 per standard unit minimum?
Is this what NACT and the newly appointed Director Genersl of Health have planned for the DHB’s?
“Cameron seeks to push one million workers out of the public sector
Staff in the NHS and other services are being shifted into mutual-style programmes based on the John Lewis model
MATT CHORLEY SUNDAY 13 NOVEMBER 2011 Gaurdian newspaper, London