Clark DavidNEW ZEALAND PUBLIC HEALTH AND DISABILITY (WAIKATO DHB) ELECTIONS BILLIn CommitteePart 1 Preliminary provisionsHon Tim Macindoe: Madam Chair.Hon Dr David Clark: Madam Chair.CHAIRPERSON (Ruth Dyson): The Hon David Clark.Hon Dr DAVID CLARK (Minister of Health): I do look forward to the member's contribution and I apologise for interrupting him. This bill is an important bill for ensuring that the people of Waikato can continue to expect high-quality health services delivered in their region. They have a high-quality health service in the Waikato but their district health board (DHB) has faced a number of challenges over recent years well-documented in the media: some challenges with seemingly fraudulent behaviour with some dysfunction at the chief executive level. Also I'm aware of conflicts that have had to be managed. Another example would be that they've never really been able to achieve under the previous Government's watch their emergency target—getting people through and into the hospital in a timely fashion.Now I don't want to detract at all from the care that's provided there because again I want to be really clear upfront that the clinicians that serve there the nurses the doctors the allied health workers provide a very fine service to the people of the Waikato. What has been the problem that this bill tries to solve is that there has been a level of performance at the board level that I have been dissatisfied with. I have not been happy with the leadership there. I have received worrying reports from many quarters about the inability of that board to plan effectively for the future and to make difficult decisions that involve changing the nature of care provided to bring things into a modern way of doing things. All of this is necessary at a DHB. Those boards—and I thank board members across New Zealand for their public service—have the responsibility of making sure that the moneys they receive from Government taxpayer money is spent best in the interests of their local populations. That's no easy task because it's a public role. There are difficult decisions to make but you also need a highly functional board that is minded to the future in order to make those decisions effectively. My concern there lay with a situation where there were some clinical risks being brought to my attention and also a financial situation which was deteriorating.I do want to thank members across the Chamber for their support for this change which effectively postpones elections at the DHB until the next round of local body and DHB elections—skipping over the one that will happen later this year. That was deemed necessary because seven months—at the time of making this decision—ran until the elections would take place and that's simply not enough time for a commissioner and a team of commissioners to come in to assess the situation and to turn a DHB around. I want to thank Dr Karen Poutasi who has stepped up as the commissioner—a former Director-General of Health in Wellington who has taken over the role of commissioner—and acknowledge her team who will be working very hard on the clinical aspects as well as the financial aspects of good performance.I also want to acknowledge the incoming chief executive Kevin Snee who will take up the appointment as he moves across from Hawke's Bay DHB and acknowledge the challenge that sits ahead of him. I'm told that he is enthusiastic for the task and ready to go.So I'm mindful of the time—this is an opening statement. I want to acknowledge the task of this bill which is to make sure that we have a period where those commissioners can lead the DHB can make the challenging decisions that are needed to put it on a sustainable footing into the future to continue to provide those high-quality services that the doctors nurses and allied health workers provide in the Waikato region.I want to also acknowledge the local MPs for their support for this change. They have been adamant that they put the interests of their local populations ahead of politics on this matter and I want to acknowledge that. I think this is a thing where the House can do a good thing across the different parties; I want to acknowledge that. I also want to acknowledge the local mayor and others who've been all very welcoming of change that supports the needs of their local populations. Thank you Madam Chair.