Ryall Tony: New Zealand Public Health and Disability Amendment Bill (No 2) — First Reading Second Reading In Committee Third ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeRyall Tony: New Zealand Public Health and Disability Amendment Bill (No 2) — First Reading Second Reading In Committee Third Reading[Sitting date: 16 May 2013. Volume:690;Page:10133. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon TONY RYALL (Minister of Health): I moveThat the New Zealand Public Health and Disability Amendment Bill (No 2) be now read a second time. It is worth taking an opportunity to set out to members exactly what this legislation does. It is part of the Government’s solution to the challenge proposed by the Court of Appeal under theAtkinson case. It does move the boundary between family and taxpayer responsibility in respect of the care of each other but the Government believes that it lands in a fair place that balances the various interests of those who are being cared for those who are doing the caring and taxpayers in general.As I said earlier on this bill comes to this Parliament after really 20 years of consideration by Governments of both sides. We know that in 2001 when theHill case first came to the Human Rights Review Tribunal it was considered by the previous Government. The previous Government began a series of papers and considerations. It had a number of reports and discussions with Ministers. A number of strategies were kicked on and kicked on every year. It culminated in 2008 with theCarers’ Strategy and Five-year Action Plan.In 2007 the Labour Government considered paying family carers and in the strategy documents that it considered in 2008 the Labour Government expressly decided not to proceed with paying family carers—in April 2008 the Labour Government expressly decided not to pay family carers. Labour was supported by the Greens in that Government and Labour expressly decided not to pay family caregivers. In fact the Labour Minister of Health instructed officials to oppose this case at at every step and that action was supported by every Labour Cabinet Minister. The Labour Governmentinstructed the Ministry of Health—even before then it was clear the ministry was to oppose this—to oppose theAtkinson claim every step of the way.I know that this is a political chamber and I know that the Opposition will never support any legislation that is part of a Budget but I do have to say it is galling to hear the crocodile tears from the former Ministers who expressly decided not to pay family carers—expressly decided not to pay family carers. In fact Mrs Dyson said this: “We have to have a sensible debate about what are legitimate family responsibilities—what you should do because we are a caring loving member of the family and then what is actually work you should get paid to do.” Then when asked about paying family carers she said that top of her Budget bidding list was more money for equipment services—more money for equipment services. She was not interested in more money for family carers. I know we are going to get political speeches today. I know the Opposition will never agree with Government legislation—The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Lindsay Tisch): Order! I am sorry to interrupt the Minister. It is a convention here that we do not use the words “lie” or “liar” and I ask the member to desist from using those phrases in the future.Hon TONY RYALL: Who was it?The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Lindsay Tisch): It does not matter.Hon TONY RYALL: Oh OK; they will not admit it.Hon Paula Bennett: Dyson.Hon TONY RYALL: Oh Dyson! The member who said family carers—Hon Annette King: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Members are to be addressed as honourable members or by their full name.Hon TONY RYALL: The Hon Ruth Dyson told disability groups that she thought it was important but when asked whether family carers should be the top priority she said as the Associate Minister of Health that the top of her Budget bidding list was more money for equipment services.Hon Paula Bennett: Not family carers.Hon TONY RYALL: Not family carers. I know we are going to get the political speeches but it is galling that members of the Government that expressly decided not to pay family carers are now saying: “Oh when the health Budget doubled we might have—”. Well they do not really say. They have not addressed why they never paid it. The argument has been “Oh it was very complex.” Well what about the years of reports that they got? What about the years of resolutions in Cabinet? It came to nothing because the Minister of Health at the time expressly instructed ministry officials and Crown Law to fight theAtkinson claimants every step of the way.I can advise the House that this bill protects the interests of theAtkinson claimants. ThoseAtkinsonclaimants who wanted to be on an interim payment arrangement are and thoseAtkinson claimants who are prepared to accept back payment to the Court of Appeal decision date have been paid. There will be a remedies hearing in respect of their settlements prior to the Court of Appeal decision so those people who wanted to be paid under this arrangement in the interim are currently being paid. What I have to say to that—Hon Annette King: Have they been paid?Hon TONY RYALL: The ministry advises that those people who wanted an interim payment received one. I am not going to engage with Annette King because she was the Minister in a Government that expressly decided not to pay family carers—not to pay family carers. So it is all politics today. It is all politics.What this legislation does is it proposes that the Government invest $72 million over the next 4 years in order to pay wages to family carers who care for their resident adult disabled children. This addresses the crux of the claim put forward byAtkinson. Thefocus of this will be on the 1600 families whom we assess as having high or very high needs. Those people will be able to qualify under policies that will be in place from 1 October 2013. That is pretty important. Policies are going to be developed and people will have the opportunity to be supported in this way. It is recognition from this Government to respond to the Court of Appeal case. We know that there will be many people who believe that they should be paid too but this respects the decision of the courts and also the longstanding tenet of Governments of all colours that families are primarily responsible for each other and that will still remain a very very important part of this legislation.In the debate ahead I think it is right to look at why it has taken so long for Parliament to get to this position. It is right to look at whether we are striking the right balance between the interests of the families the carers and taxpayers. I think we are. I think we have landed in a fair place—a fair place that recognises the concerns of the courts but also makes sure that we as taxpayers are able to make a contribution that we would expect to be made in this situation. The reason why the bill is going through under urgency on this day is that it is important that we do not settle these matters on an individual basis before tribunals or courts. We need to have a policy in place that deals with the concerns of the courts with theAtkinson claimants’ case and proceed from there.I know that the debate will be full of bluster from the other side—bluster from the other side—but members should remember when they hear that bluster that those members are the people who in the times of plenty decided to do nothing. They expressly decided not to pay family carers and expressly decided to tell the ministry to oppose it every step of the way.Hon Annette King: 11 years of National—did nothing.Hon TONY RYALL: Oh now it is 11 years of National. Look it is all politics from Annette King—it is all politics. When she was in charge she did nothing.These people are currently being paid nothing and from 1 October we will have a scheme in place that supports family carers those who are caring for their disabled adult family members in a way that is respectful of the huge contribution that they are making to the care of their loved ones.