Debate on Crown Entities, Public Organisations,and State Enterprises — Counties Manukau District Health Board

Just to continue on from what my colleague Mrs Goodhew was saying, I say it is a massive issue for the public that $4 billion extra per year is going into the New Zealand health system since this Government came into power in 1999, yet we are not seeing any improved health outcomes overall. That is a major problem. Continuing on with the theme we were debating in the discussion of the Canterbury District Health Board, I say we need to have some real accountability from the Minister, and from his Associate Ministers, for what is happening in the health service. I certainly hope that the Minister in the chair, the Hon Jim Anderton, an Associate Minister of Health, will get up at the end of this series of speeches and take a call, because, as I said before, he tells us that the New Zealand health system has never been in better shape than it is at present. Clearly, it is not in such good shape, and that has been a theme throughout these speeches. If he wants to prove there is some accountability, the very least he will have to do is to get up and justify his position.

Accountability goes to the core of what we are missing in the health service. If we look at the Counties Manukau District Health Board, we see the situation where the chairman, Pat Snedden, who was appointed by the Labour Government, signed a contract for laboratory services where there was a major conflict of interest. Helen Clark, the Prime Minister, has said the chairman is responsible for that, but she has refused to endorse the chairpersons of the three Auckland regional health boards and express confidence in them. Clearly, they are accountable for what they did; the Prime Minister does not have any confidence, and the Minister of Heath refuses to express confidence, in them. We went out to Counties Manukau District Health Board just a couple of weeks ago, spoke to the chairman, Mr Snedden, and said to him that the National Party thinks he should resign from his post. The reality is that he is at the helm of that organisation. Mr Snedden said that he did not think he should resign, because the issue that arose regarding the contract was not his fault.

The problem we have is a lack of accountability. There is buck-passing. The Minister does not think he is accountable; he says the chairman is accountable. The chairman says he is responsible, but is not to blame. We have that culture basically interwoven through everything this Government does, whether it is in health or in corrections. The problem with the laboratory contract is that despite what the district health board chairs say, the end does not justify the means. They say there is no problem. They have been through a High Court action and were found to be wrong, but they say that at the end of the day they are saving the public $8 million of taxpayers’ money, so what they did is justified. That theme runs through this Government, as well. It thinks it can do what it likes, as long as it gets the results. Well, I say the Government is not getting the results and that attitude is not acceptable to the New Zealand public.

The debacle over laboratory testing has been an absolute scandal, and the fact that no one has said he or she is responsible for making a mistake and will be resigning is completely unacceptable.

💬 Hon Tau Henare: Doesn’t happen any more.

It does not happen any more. No, it did not happen in terms of the Department of Corrections. The Minister of Corrections, Damien O’Connor, has not resigned. He said he was responsible, but not to blame, for the recent deaths. We cannot see him taking any responsibility at any time. [Interruption] Damien O’Connor thinks we should get over it. The fact is that Liam Ashley’s parents will never get over it. The relatives of the victims of Graeme Burton will never get over it. It is all right for Government Ministers to say people should get over it. In terms of the health service, the partner of the man who died in Christchurch Hospital will never get over it. If the people in Auckland who cannot get access to the elective surgery that they need do not survive, their relatives will not get over it. But it is typical of a Labour Minister to just say the Government is responsible but not to blame for that, and to say people should just get over it. Well, frankly, it is time that Ministers actually got back on track and got back on theme.

I want to hear from Jim Anderton. Rather than just silently tell us to get over it, by not giving a speech, I want him to get up tonight and tell us how he can possibly say the New Zealand health system is better than it was 7 years ago, when frankly it is not.

Report noted.

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