O'Connor SimonHealth SectorSIMON O'CONNOR (Chairperson of the Health Committee): I will take a happy 5 minutes on this. The health sector is in excellent shape. It has been acknowledged by my colleague who has just resumed his seat actually Paul Foster-Bell as he segued from Government administration into health and the strong leadership that has been shown by the Minister of Health in importantly leading an entire sector of people. In fact even in recent days the whole TerraNova Homes and Care settlement is just an indication of that good work continuing. But I think it is important obviously as we are talking here today that it is about the year that has gone past and as I say it is in a very good shape. Can I acknowledge the other members of the committee who sat through the various hearings—I found that a very constructive process—and particularly those groups who came in and presented to us for their openness.Look the health sector is huge it is substantial; we are talking 20 district health boards (DHBs) and a whole array of ancillary organisations—everything from the likes of Pharmac to the Blood Service and it was a very good chance to sample some of those organisations if you will. Again each has little niggles and challenges and some have some that are similar. In fact I do not know how other members found it but we actually brought four DHBs in at one point the smaller ones to talk to us. We did something quite unusual in the select committee which was to bring them all up together and have a discussion with the chairs and chief executives. It was a really good way to get a bit of a sense of the synergy between them how they are cooperating some of the similar challenges and really importantly how they have been empowered to manage those challenges from how they are managing their finances and reducing the deficits to how they are making sure they are targeting the particular needs of their community.I think that is quite important because from time to time we hear challenges be they financial in surgery with children smoking cessation or in mental health. What was really important coming through in these hearings was actually that the DHBs are very aware of that. They are very aware of the funding they have and in many cases they have sought extra funding and that has been provided—Canterbury is a perfectly good example of that and of how they in turn are able to respond. Look we know that a record-breaking $16.1 billion is spent in health in New Zealand. That is a substantial increase and it was very interesting to hear how those DHBs in particular have worked to spend that money.We heard about the growing success of the bowel screening programme starting up actually in the Minister of Health's area in the Waitematā DHB and moving around the country. I know both from the hearings that we had but also importantly I suppose from my anecdotal engagement with various groups in the country that that has been very well received.We had a number of groups talk around the growing success around our online portal. A lot of New Zealanders will know that you can access your health records online now and as a small pitch I encourage those who cannot particularly when they are seeing their GPs to have a talk to their GP at the end of the consultation and encourage them to do that.We have heard of the success around immunisation. Rather scandalously—granted it goes back many years now to about 2007—only 67 percent of our young people were immunised. Actually the great work that has been led by the Minister the ministry and right through to the DHBs and those on the frontline is now seeing about 95 percent of our young people having their immunisations. If I might just make one quick comment in respect of the anti-vaccination anti-immunisation materials that have been put out in public—a certain disappointment might be the diplomatic way to put it and for those who are listening basically do not believe a bar of it. There has been far too much pseudo-science out there around these things and it is basically palaver for want of another polite word.We have also seen and heard about the importance around the extra spend into Pharmac—an extra $125 million I believe was found last year to support the work of Pharmac. You have heard me saying in the House before that the whole developing pharmacological area is quite fascinating but it is also going to make a huge huge difference. Two of the highlights that were noted to us were obviously the funding of pembrolizumab—most people will know that as Keytruda for melanoma cancers. Importantly that has been extended further now. I think they are looking into the area of lung cancer. And—really successfully too—funding for the hepatitis C drugs is quite a remarkable opportunity there.So look 5 minutes does not quite provide enough time to go through the enormity that is the health sector but it is in incredibly good shape and I am confident that other members on either side of the Chamber or the Minister of Health himself will be highlighting these strongly and importantly. Oh and I should just add—seeing as I have got 5 seconds left—the whole smoking cessation project was well articulated and is going well throughout the country.