Young Jonathan: General DebateText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeYoung Jonathan: General Debate[Sitting date: 17 June 2015. Volume:706;Page:4498. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]JONATHAN YOUNG (National—New Plymouth): The Salvation Army’s report into the state of the nation in 2008 expressed incredible disappointment that the investment that was being made in social services and care for people was not producing the result that it hoped. There are challenges that New Zealanders face and that Governments face all the time so laying everything at the feet of the Government is an easy blame game to play. I would just suggest that the previous speaker Jenny Salesa go back and read that report from the Salvation Army regarding her Government at that time and consider the words that were said.What we need to understand is that during the most difficult of times that this nation faced financially the health budget in this country continued to be increased year after year. If you go back to 2012 and if you look at what was happening in for example Ireland it cut out $200 million of its health budget at a time when we increased ours by 3.4 percent. Ireland ended up with an $800 million deficit and many health professionals lost their jobs. It was a time when we as we have done year after year after year increased health spending increased accessibility for elective surgery increased the number of doctors and nurses and midwives and we have made it possible for hard-to-staff places like rural Taranaki to have access to health professionals through our bonding scheme. At a time when things were very tough around the world out of all of the 27 countries that the OECD measured we were third-highest for health funding. So the rhetoric we hear today does not have any data or facts behind it. It is political bias and it is misinformation.What we understand is that New Zealanders need to have confidence in whoever governs their country. We have been returned for a third term and that is not a statement of arrogance as other people would say. It is just the fact that New Zealanders have had confidence in this Government and principally it is because of the gains that we have seen achieved over a number of years in the face of great challenge and great difficulty. We have seen more children involved in early childhood education. We have seen more people receive surgery. We have seen more doctors and nurses be trained and be involved in the health profession. We have seen many many achievements and that is why today the Minister of Health has decided to put commissioners into the Southern District Health Board because the gains that we expect for the benefit of New Zealanders and the taxpayer are not being seen in that district health board.Health budgets are under pressure all around the world and in this country. We in Taranaki have had the tremendous advantage of having a new hospital built. From all the accounts that I hear from people who have gone into that hospital for surgery and appointments the facility and design itself have facilitated a far higher ability to offer health care and get more people to that place and receive the benefit of that hospital. All of that is absolutely necessary and if we want to see New Zealanders cared for in such a way that we desire then in order to have those efficiencies and those modern buildings we have got to have strong financial management of this economy. By and large I think that is what New Zealanders have seen in this Government. They are seeing the benefits of prudence. They are seeing the benefits of discipline. They are seeing the benefits when the Prime Minister made a whole list of Better Public Services targets and the work that we have done to achieve them. Thank you.