Coleman Jonathan; Faafoi Kris; Tisch LindsayHon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN (Minister of Health): I want to thank the last member Ria Bond for her thoughtful measured and intellectual contribution and for the various issues she has highlighted. One of the issues that the member did speak of was the arrival yesterday of the GPs with their messages for me and I have taken those home and read them all. There are some valid issues that they raise and I am very committed to working with the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners to address those. We had a very constructive meeting in my office with Dr Tim Malloy and afterwards we issued a joint statement to that effect.General practice is at the very heart of the medical system in New Zealand and I know the member will have read the New Zealand Health Strategy. I know also that the speaker before Ria Bond Julie Anne Genter—I think she was the member for Minnesota—will be also be very familiar with the plan that we have laid out around the challenges that the New Zealand health system faces.As you know we have got a growing population and we have got an ageing population but there is also more and more that we can do for people in terms of new and expensive drugs and technology. This Government has put a huge emphasis on preventative care and on early intervention. Measures like cutting the rate of smoking across the country by 20 percent through progressive taxation—that has a huge downstream effect on the health of the country. So I want to assure the very concerned Opposition members who want to know what the plan is—go and read that New Zealand Health Strategy. It is all laid out there; it is all very very clear.One of the things that I am actually proudest of that this Government has delivered is the $2 billion pay equity settlement that was announced in the Budget. That is going to raise the incomes of 55000 of the hardest-working most deserving people in New Zealand: care and support workers. They are doing work that frankly you would have to be a saint to deliver. The vast majority of them are on or are on about the average wage. From 1 July those women had a pay increase of between 21 and 49 percent. So if you are on the minimum wage and you are working in a rest home you are now going to be taking home an extra $106 a week in the hand—over $5000 per year. Personally I feel very proud of this Government's delivery of that because really you would think that it would be the left-wing complainers over there who would have done something about it. But as with free under-13s visits for children as with raising benefit rates for the first time in real terms since 1973 it has actually taken a National Government to deliver it. So we are not about complaint and bluster and all that stuff; we actually get on and deliver it.If you look at all the achievements across the health portfolio hundreds of services—you would struggle to find a single one that has not improved. We have got 7000 more doctors and nurse across the system. We are doing an extra 50000 operations per year and an extra 150000 appointments. You know those are huge achievements. We are bringing waiting times down for elective surgery. We are making sure that more people are seen. Despite the constant litany of complaint from the other side in actual fact waiting times of mental health services have decreased and we have put more and more money into the drugs budget. The Pharmac budget has gone up by over $200 million under this Government—$60 million this year. I can tell you that 3.5 million New Zealanders received a funded medicine in the last year. That is incredible and that $60 million in the Budget directly benefits 33000 New Zealanders. If you look at low-cost GP visits—800000 under-13 children are getting free visits to the doctor. That is a real tangible achievement. It aligns with the strategy of taking pressure off our hospitals but also very importantly of improving the health of children.One of the most interesting bits of research I read this year was the fact that our emergency department (ED) health targets—so making sure that 95 percent of patients are in and out of the ED within 6 hours—literally save 700 lives a year. That is incredible. This week the first letters are going out for the National Bowel Screening Programme. That is also going to save 500 to 700 lives per year. Look at the big picture—record funding level every service is better and there are record numbers of doctors operations and appointments. The whole system is on the right track.KRIS FAAFOI (Labour—Mana): I raise a point of order Mr Chairperson. I did not want to interrupt the Minister's lack of flow in his speech but I just wanted to remind him that when we address members of Parliament in this House we do it by their name or their seat. The Minister attempted humour in that speech and did not do that with one particular member.The CHAIRPERSON (Lindsay Tisch): I hear what you say and I should have picked it up at the time. I think it was done in a friendly sort of way as opposed to an—[Interruption] No I am on my feet. I am just ruling on this. I hear what you say and the Minister has just commented that he also agrees so thank you for bringing it up.