Hague Kevin: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Hague Kevin: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:664;Page:11732] 
4. 
KEVIN HAGUE (Green) 
 to the  
Minister of Health 
: Are there any recommendations from the Public Health Advisory Committee’s report on child health  
The Best Start in Life 
 that he will not be implementing; if so for what reason? 
Hon TONY RYALL (Minister of Health) 
: 
 I have received that report. I advise the member that the report and its recommendations are being considered by the Ministry of Health in the development of its child health work planning. It is simply too early to say which recommendations may or may not be implemented. 
Kevin Hague 
: Does he agree with the report’s conclusion that New Zealand’s child health outcomes compare poorly internationally and that these outcomes are low in part “because gaps have widened between the health status of different groups in our communities over the past three decades”; if not why not? 
Hon TONY RYALL 
: I certainly agree that we can do a lot more to improve the health status of New Zealand children. Information will be coming out in the next couple of weeks that will indicate that some of that variation and that difference between different deprivation groups have been improving in recent times. 
Kevin Hague 
: Did the Minister raise with his colleague the Minister of Finance the OECD report that ranked New Zealand 29th out of 30 countries last year for child health and safety; if so why did the Budget not do anything to close the gaps between the haves and have-nots? 
Hon TONY RYALL 
: I know that the Minister of Finance is aware of that report and in fact the Budget has done quite a lot to improve health services for New Zealand particularly in child health. The Government remains strongly committed to achieving its vaccination target as well as other important health goals. 
Kevin Hague 
: Given the findings of the Public Health Advisory Committee’s report why has his Government chosen to prioritise elective surgery for adults over child health services in the community? 
Hon TONY RYALL 
: The Government has been investing in both. We certainly are putting money into child health services around the community. One of the Government’s six health targets is lifting the rate of immunisation for young New Zealanders and for the first time ever we have got to 85 percent. Information will be coming out in the next few weeks that will show that people in the lowest deprivation areas have had a significant uplift in that area. The Government is also investing strongly in elective surgery. We think it was unacceptable that in the last 9 years the Budget doubled and fewer people got service. 
Kevin Hague 
: Why has the Minister chosen to ignore the rheumatic fever epidemic in New Zealand children referred to in the advisory committee’s report which sees infection rates 14 times worse than the OECD average and which disproportionately affects poor Maori and Pasifika children? 
Hon TONY RYALL 
: The Government does not ignore that information. We have inherited a lot of problems in the health service and although they might have been ignored under the previous Government under this one they are not. 
Kevin Hague 
: Could the Minister explain some of the Government’s initiatives to tackle rheumatic fever? 
Hon TONY RYALL 
: The Government is working assiduously in a number of areas. The changes we are making in primary care for example will help in the prevention. Also we have made significant investments in a number of areas such as our home insulation programme and the investment we are making in vaccination. 
Kevin Hague 
: Has the Minister received any advice that the Public Health Advisory Committee’s recommended way forward to improve child health and safety is not the best way of doing so; if so what was that advice? 
Hon TONY RYALL 
: As the member knows there are 21 recommendations in that report. As I indicated earlier it is too early to say which of those may or may not be accepted. 
Kevin Hague 
: I seek leave to table two documents. The first is the report from the Public Health Advisory Committee  
The Best Start in Life: Achieving effective action on child health and well-being. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? There is no objection. 
Document by leave laid on the Table of the House. 
Kevin Hague 
: The second document I seek leave to table is a report from 2006 from the OECD  
Economic Valuation of Environmental Health Risks to Children 
. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? There is no objection. 
Document by leave laid on the Table of the House.