Sio Aupito William; Rurawhe AdrianHon AUPITO WILLIAM SIO (Associate Minister of Health (Pacific Peoples)): Thank you Mr Speaker for this opportunity. I want to acknowledge the contributions made by people across the House on this particular matter. I acknowledge the ACT Party for raising this debate on a matter that's quite painful particularly when we acknowledge that two people have died which has been part of this report. I want to convey on behalf of this side of the House our sincere condolences to the men who are tabled in this report who died in the month of November. No amount of rhetoric in this House will bring back the lives of the loved ones belonging to those extended families in Auckland. I think perhaps what we can look at is that by acknowledging the mistakes that the system has made—and all of us have a part to play in that—and looking at how we can improve the health system that's the kind of legacy that I'm hopeful will remove the pain that the whānau of the two men referred to in this report feel. Condolences to them for their loss. It's also important to acknowledge the staff of our health system both the Northern Regional Health Coordination Centre across the Auckland region and everybody that has been working at the grassroots level. Most of us in this House have no idea of the kind of effort that has gone in from last year which was a very different scene to this year which again is very different from last year. As painful as it is for everybody concerned I want to acknowledge and thank the members of the independent panels who have been part of this report and those who volunteered to give feedback to the independent members. It would not have been easy but here's the thing ladies and gentlemen: our health system is one where we do not blame our people because we need to adopt this no-blame system so that people working in the health system are able to feel confident in coming forward and in acknowledging the faults and the flaws of a system and it is our task as politicians to make sure that we pick up on the recommendations—every single one of those recommendations—and improve on it. So to those who are part of the health system in Auckland but I know also those throughout the whole country in the health system stand in solidarity I am one of many of our Ministers who sit in day in day out and hear the day-to-day reports from our health workers. There are times when I'm upset with the way things are flowing but by and large in the health system we've got people who are dedicated to giving their all for the sake of our community. Why? Because this Government laid down a strong foundation when we became the Government that we'd prioritise lives and we'd prioritise livelihoods and I think as challenging as it has been for our health system that has been their mandate and that has been what everybody has been working towards. In trying to draw a line and in looking forward in an attempt to acknowledge that there were faults and mistakes that have been made but acknowledging how we do better than this going forward I want to acknowledge those who have spoken in support and acknowledgment of the inequities that our communities face particularly the challenges of Māori Pasifika and people with disabilities because when somebody who gets infected with COVID—as we've seen with both case A and case B—it's not just COVID that we're dealing with; it's other long-term conditions that that side of the House knew about and that we on this side of the House have always known about. That's why we're talking equity. Never before in the nine years of the previous Government has there been a discussion about equity. For the first time ever we're talking about equity. So it's not just COVID. COVID has highlighted long-term conditions which make Māori which make Pasifika and which make people with other physical disabilities more vulnerable than other members of our society. Diabetes rheumatic fever heart diseases high blood pressure—these are the things that are being highlighted as a consequence of COVID. So in many ways let's learn from this. You know if you look at case A I acknowledge as painful as it is that the initial phone call was prompt as the report says but the clinical background wasn't made available to the caller. The risks weren't fully assessed. The template itself wasn't fit for purpose. There was a delay in the clinical assessment by a registered health person. There was no follow-up when the patient didn't answer the phone. What that highlighted also was the fact that last year what we saw when people were infected was that it was a totally different group of people. This year since August over 9000 people have been infected largely Māori and Pasifika. At the moment our numbers stand at 45 percent for Māori about 30 percent for Pasifika 20 percent or so for Pākehā and for Asian communities the highest vaccinated group they've been relatively safeguarded because of the vaccination. In case B the person discharged himself against medical advice. The COVID Healthline weren't aware of his clinical condition. The public health team were unaware of the circumstances of the self-discharge. The oximeter machine was provided with training but the patient still had difficulty using it. That's normal and I suppose what that also highlighted was that within our health system you have a number of factors and a number of streams of work that are separated. The left hand often doesn't know what the right is doing. What we are trying to do as a Government is to get more collaboration and more line of sight across. I want to acknowledge our health providers—Māori Pasifika and our general health providers—right across the motu. It's been relentless this year. If we thought last year was unrelenting this year has been relentless for them. It's gone on two years now that our health workers have been on the ground having to face all of this and I just want to acknowledge and thank them. The pūtea that this Government has provided to our health system and more particularly to our Māori and Pasifika health and disability providers—they have said that never before has there been an investment of this kind. In the pilot that is taking place with the Fono Trust and South Seas Healthcare in Auckland they are providing this holistic whole of care end-to-end support. Face to face is important. What we're recognising since August is that the cohort that has now been infected largely—Māori Pasifika and others—are the ones that we do need to pay attention to and we need to understand that they speak different languages. We need to understand that the holistic approach means that we've got to involve their whānau into this and more importantly you see that the report also says that there has been year in year out of under-investment into the system. We need to get our system in place so that we're sharing that information across the motu so that people on the ground are able to save lives and that's what this Government is about. It is about trying to do the best under the circumstances. The whole world is grappling with this but suffice to say despite the high number of infections and despite the relative number of deaths if you compare that to what's happening in Fiji in Papua New Guinea in Australia in the US and in Europe our system has helped keep us safe thus far. In the new environment that we're now in with the COVID-19 Protection Framework there is a lot more work that we have to do to get confidence to our communities to be prepared for home isolation. We need to engage and provide education and workshops and that's a whole new year coming up. Next year is going to be different from this year. I say to all our providers: take a well-earned break. DEPUTY SPEAKER: The time for this debate has expired. The debate having concluded the motion lapsed.