Hutchison Paul: General Debate 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Hutchison Paul: General Debate 
[Sitting date: 09 May 2012. Volume:679;Page:2089. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Dr PAUL HUTCHISON (National—Hunua) 
: 
 I must say I get a revelation every day in this place and it was particularly so today when I heard Catherine Delahunty say that the SIS was observing her at the age of 15. It was 6 years later when it threw attention on me but I am sure I have not had the long history that she has. It dropped me after 3 months.  
The announcement by the Prime Minister and the Associate Minister of Health this morning that $12 million extra will go towards preventing rheumatic fever was a very very welcome announcement. It was welcome for our children and it was welcome for public health and health promotion in New Zealand. What is really interesting about this is that I have a little graph on the incidence of rheumatic fever in New Zealand between 1997 and 2010. During that time the peaks of rheumatic fever were in 2000 2001 2003 and again in 2007 and 2008—right during the tenure of the Labour Government. It talked about it but it did absolutely nothing. So it was extremely welcome to hear the announcement this morning that the already committed $12 million in Budget 2011 not only has been increased but has been increased by $12 million for Budget 2012.  
What we know is that this programme for preventing rheumatic fever—which is a particular indictment on New Zealand given that it is a Third World disease—under the National Government is being rolled out in Northland in South Auckland in the Bay of Plenty in the Lakes District in Tai Rawhiti in Hawke’s Bay and in Porirua. It is targeting at least 35000 children who are particularly vulnerable— 
Phil Twyford 
: What about the cause though? Poverty. 
Dr PAUL HUTCHISON 
: —but there is a much much wider number than that. To Mr Twyford I say that the Labour Government during its tenure did absolutely nothing but talk. I think the National Government can be extremely proud that over the last 4 years despite the difficult economic situation an extra $1.5 billion has been committed to health and there will be more announced in the Budget. The National Government has been determined to keep up the services and the workforce in public health.  
I want to talk about the workforce for a second. That is another thing. Annette King over there went on and on about the health workforce in New Zealand—in fact she announced 42 different workforce reports during her tenure—and there were fewer doctors and nurses. During the last 4 years since 2008 there have been 800 extra doctors in our district health boards and 2000 extra nurses in our district health boards. What could Annette King do? All she could do was announce workforce reports and the numbers became lower and lower.  
During the last 4 years we have seen record results in elective surgery—something like 27000 extra cases being done over the last 3½ years and we are expecting 4000 extra elective surgeries done year on year. It is again an extraordinary indictment on that Government that during its tenure it increased the health budget from $6 billion to $12 billion with really no extra increase in elective surgery.  
But what is an outstanding achievement over the last 4 years is the increase in immunisation that we have seen. In 2008 after that long long tenure of the Labour Government only 73 percent of 2-year-olds were immunised.