Stewart Barbara: Financial Review Debate — In Committee 
Stewart Barbara: Financial Review Debate — In Committee 
[Volume:630;Page:2441] 
BARBARA STEWART (NZ First) 
: 
 On behalf of New Zealand First I rise to speak to the 2004-05 financial reviews and in particular the Ministry of Health financial review. 
The area of health that New Zealand First wants to see progressed is children’s health. We know that health outcomes are a defining feature of our First World status and that any decline affects our quality of life. New Zealand First believes in and will actively work towards the objective of having free health-care for all under-6-year-olds. In 1997 this initiative was implemented but with escalating costs the initiative was gradually whittled away basically to the detriment of our children. Today’s primary health organisations have a policy of part charges for medical visits and prescriptions for children but sometimes even these charges are too high for parents. 
It is absolutely essential that we provide our very youngest citizens with certainty about health care and ensure timely access to all health-care services. We believe that an emphasis on preventive measures at an early age ensures that later problems like hearing problems and sight problems that eventuate and reduce educational achievement do not go undetected and of course an increased amount of investment is required at this later stage. I recently read a report that states that a 1 percent increase in overall literacy results in a 1.8 percent increase in GDP. When we relate this to educational achievement—and health is usually a factor in this—we see that these figures cannot be ignored. We say that investment in this area will definitely produce very worthwhile results for New Zealand. 
Last year Minister King spoke of many advances that were to be made in the area of oral health for primary school children. Indications were given in this House that a number of positive issues relating to oral health-care were to be worked on and fixed. This was repeated again prior to the election. To date unfortunately I have heard of very little action and the questions remain around oral health-care. I have heard of some advances to be fair but there is still quite a lot that needs to be done in this area. 
The facilities and services review was carried out on school dental services and the final report commenting on this is not easy to find on the Ministry of Health website—if it is even there. We all know that dental decay is on the increase and although each district health board has its own oral health service—which was repeated in a written answer I received from the Minister—we know that adequate resourcing for this essential service is absolutely paramount. The possibility of having local super-clinics and the increasing reliance on mobile clinics appears to be the best way of managing this scarce resource that is absolutely essential for the well-being of our nation’s children. Perhaps sharing resources between district health boards in order to provide an effective service and ensure that children can actually be seen within a specified time frame is one of the changes that must be managed in order for this service to survive and flourish—because we do want to see it flourish. Good oral health is absolutely essential for the well-being and overall health of every child. 
The final area of health care in which we are looking for action is the Government’s intentions regarding the changes to maternity services. The latest addition to the voices calling for change is the Health and Disability Commissioner who has reported on another avoidable death. The public has a right to know as soon as possible exactly what the Minister intends to do to improve the current system. The proposed alternative that we have heard about—the setting up of a database of maternal and prenatal deaths—provides nothing in the way of reassurance for pregnant women or even for those contemplating pregnancy. I say to the Minister in the chair the Hon Pete Hodgson that it is obvious to all New Zealanders that changes are necessary to ensure that women have access to the best possible medical care while they are pregnant and when giving birth.