King Annette: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
King Annette: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Sitting date: 20 March 2013. Volume:688;Page:8694. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
4. 
Hon ANNETTE KING (Labour—Rongotai) 
 to the  
Minister of Health 
: Does he stand by all his statements regarding “Better Sooner More Convenient” health care; if not why not? 
Hon TONY RYALL (Minister of Health) 
: 
 Yes within context. I also stand by my statement that 30000 people were culled off elective surgery waiting lists and that real access to elective surgery was cut for New Zealanders over the 9 long years of the failed Labour— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! 
Hon Annette King 
: It had very little to do with the question but however— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Well it was answered. 
Hon Annette King 
: When was he first informed that the orthopaedic clinics had been stopped at Buller Hospital 6 months ago and were unlikely to be reinstated for at least another 6 months according to the district health board? 
Hon TONY RYALL 
: I would have to check my diary to advise the member of that. I am aware that those clinics have been suspended. They were not particularly regular before then but it is expected that those clinics will resume as what has happened in Buller is that rather than have those clinics provided by very expensive locums who have been flown down from Auckland the orthopaedic service in the West Coast area is now being provided by Christchurch orthopaedic surgeons—a part of that closer transalpine relationship. 
Hon Annette King 
: Well in light of that answer if his stated aim is to have “Better sooner more convenient care” in health services provided close to people’s homes why are Buller patients now waiting twice as long for their first specialist appointment as they were before his “better sooner” orthopaedic transalpine service was introduced last year? 
Hon TONY RYALL 
: What I can tell you is that the access of West Coast people to orthopaedic services is far better than that of most other populations of that type around the country. Look the district health board advises me— 
Hon Annette King 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. He might like to answer the question I asked. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: And the member might like to give him an opportunity to answer the question. [ 
Interruption 
] Order! We are getting a perpetual barrage now from this side of the House when Ministers are attempting to answer the question. Before the Minister has a chance to sit down it has been raised as a point of order by the member that the Minister is not answering the question. You have got to give the Minister an opportunity to answer the question. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I think you are getting a barrage and it is unfortunate because it is often when you are ruling but I think the problem is that Ministers traditionally have given a flick at the end of their answers. They have started off straight and this Minister seems unable to do so. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: It is certainly difficult when a Minister gives a flick at the end of the answer for me as Speaker to do much about it. The Minister was answering the question. I invite him to continue his answer. 
Hon TONY RYALL 
: The people of the West Coast do have very good access to orthopaedic services. I am advised that services to Buller—actually at the Buller Health centre—are expected to resume once the new service has bedded in at the West Coast hospital. We have put in an extra $12 million into the West Coast District Health Board. We are providing more operations and I can tell those people from Buller that unlike under the previous Government they will not be culled from the waiting lists. 
Hon Annette King 
: In light of that answer has he been told there are ongoing teething problems with the new orthopaedic service in Greymouth relating to a shortage of orthopaedic surgeons and the reluctance of Canterbury orthopaedic surgeons to work on the West Coast leading to a 5-year-old girl having to be flown to Christchurch on the Solid Energy rescue helicopter for treatment for a broken arm? 
Hon TONY RYALL 
: I would have to check the details of that claim from the member because my experience from last week is that it cannot be relied upon. 
Hon Annette King 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. His comments were to denigrate me rather than answer the question. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The question was certainly a charged political question. The answer was a charged political answer. Again we have got the—[ 
Interruption 
] Order! Again we have got the situation where the Minister is halfway through his answer and the member is raising a point of order about the quality of the answer. It has got to cease. 
Hon Annette King 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Can I ask you later to look at the answers from the Minister because you are allowing unnecessary political swipes when there have been straight questions. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I assure the member that I always take the opportunity of looking back at the transcripts. Would the Minister like to complete his answer? 
Hon TONY RYALL 
: Yes. I have been assured by the chief executive of the West Coast District Health Board that the board expects to provide a very similar if not slightly greater amount of orthopaedic services on the West Coast and you would expect that because we have put $12 million extra into the West Coast District Health Board over the last 4 years. 
Hon Annette King 
: If there are 800 more doctors working in district health boards since National became the Government—a claim that has been contradicted by his own officials—why has the West Coast not received its share of this huge increase in doctors so that its surgery can be provided closer to home with “faster treatment and a better chance for a healthier life.” all promised by him at the last election? 
Hon TONY RYALL 
: Because the latest information I have is that on the West Coast we have 12 extra doctors and 29 extra nurses over the last 4 years. Because we have put quite a lot of extra money into the West Coast District Health Board it is able to provide more services. We have got more specialist appointments and we have got more operations. We are working to make sure that we get best value for people. That is why it is making some changes in the way it delivers services—working closer with Christchurch—and that is pretty good for the people of the West Coast. 
Hon Annette King 
: I seek leave to table a cutting from the front page of the  
Westport News 
 not a very widely read paper— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: No it is available to members. [ 
Interruption 
] Order! It is available to members if they so want to get it. 
Grant Robertson 
: No not in Kaitaia. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Yes it is you can go and get it off the net. 
Hon Clayton Cosgrove 
: I seek leave to table for the Minister’s benefit photographic evidence of the Solid Energy rescue helicopter— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: If you really think that is going to inform the House better I’ll put leave. Leave is sought by the Hon Clayton Cosgrove to table such a photograph. Is there any objection? Yes there is. 
Hon Annette King 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. You will note when you go back and look at the tape of today that this Minister doubted my word over a question last week and I want to table evidence out of the Greymouth newspaper that a child was flown to Christchurch with a broken arm. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The paper is available to members if they want it. We are moving— 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I deliberately waited until the question had finished. I think my point of order was alluded to by the Hon Annette King. It is not open to members to question other members’ words in the House. When a member makes a statement in the House if it is not true and it is that sort of statement you may not effectively call them a liar as Tony Ryall did today— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: No. Order! I have heard quite sufficient. 
Hon Gerry Brownlee 
: I think that is an interesting point because in fact in a question there should not be a statement according to the Standing Orders. So if we get right down to the tight requirements of the Standing Orders in an answer then we should apply them in a question as well. So the statements that Mr Ryall refers to should never have been made in a question. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I think the more important thing is that for any member to suggest that someone has been lying would be very serious. That is not what I took from the Hon Tony Ryall’s answer. What he was saying is that he would want the ability to go back and check the facts for himself. That is perfectly in order. There are many times that the word of one member is something that is questioned by another. This is a debating chamber.