O'Connor Simon: Annual Review Debate — In CommitteeText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeO'Connor Simon: Annual Review Debate — In Committee[Sitting date: 14 April 2016. Volume:713;Page:10649. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]SIMON O’CONNOR (Chairperson of the Health Committee): I am absolutely delighted to take this call. The Heath Committee has been working incredibly hard this year including work on the annual reviews. Can I start by thanking all the members on that committee right across the various political hue and spectrum—it is a huge array of work.It is really in that spirit of thanks though that I want to focus a bit of my initial time in these 5 minutes. It is on those who are actually working hard within the health sector. Through the annual reviews we have heard primarily from the district health boards—a representative number of them—we cannot see all of them for obvious reasons. In meeting with the various district health boards those from the Health Research Council and other agencies you realise and continue to appreciate the great work that they do. So I want to take this opportunity rather than highlighting the particulars of their activities just to say thank you to each and every person who works in the health area. I was going to fall into the trap of talking about doctors nurses and hospitals—but as everyone in this House will appreciate it is much much wider than that. That came through in the select committee process as the various board chairs chief executives and others were talking to us and sharing what they do. In a sense on the record I want to say thank you to them and to all those working in the sector.We heard a number of positive elements coming through at the select committees and through the annual reviews. I am going to leave much of that to other speakers both from the Opposition and the Government to share. It is oft-repeated—and I am all for good news stories but I am not going to use my time there bar one example—and that is what is coming out of the Health Research Council. It got a new chair recently Dr Lester Levy the new chief executive in Professor Kathryn McPherson—both of them doing a tremendous job. One of the reasons I want to highlight what they do is that the work of the Health Research Council is often not well known. Often it is the researchers themselves or other bodies that get the thanks. But actually the moneys through the Crown and invested via the Health Research Council bring about amazing results.We heard about one example at the select committee; in fact those of us who were at the Royal Society last night heard about this as well. We heard about some of the research that is being done and led by the likes of the Deputy Chair of the Heath Research Council Professor Richard Beasley. Basically it is looking at the efficacy of saline—in other words water and salt—with other physiological products. In other words can you make a product with all the other compounds and elements into well a drip that may be more effective?Grant Robertson: I would not use that word.SIMON O’CONNOR: Well we could not use it if we do not want to offend the Opposition. But the long and the short of it is that the Health Research Council found that there is no greater efficacy—or benefit if you will—of using these new amazing products that may replicate human blood plasmas and so forth. It found actually that saline in and of itself is just as effective. And saline costs effectively a couple of dollars whereas these other physiological products cost hundreds of dollars. Here was a great example of the Health Research Council funding some research that is saving not only New Zealand taxpayers but also people across the world hundreds of thousands—if not millions—of dollars because ultimately we do not need to invest in these more expensive products because they are not bringing out the same set of results. So I thought it was just one small example but a relatively positive example of what is happening in the health space.We have heard from a number of other groups before the Health Committee that were highlighting in small ways the activities that are going on. One of the themes actually that was coming out—and I am sure my colleague from New Zealand First Barbara Stewart acknowledges it—was the importance of oral health. It was something that is always coming before us. I think it is one of the really strong announcements in recent days by Minister Coleman in particular and obviously Minister Dunne that is actually looking to change where the decisions around the fluoridation of water occur: moving it out of local government and into district health boards which makes absolute sense because actually this is a health issue. I think it is a really good example of how voices in the community are heard through the annual review process and can begin to make a change. I think it is just absolutely fantastic and I want to thank the Minister in the chair Jonathan Coleman for his leadership in this role.