Hutchison Paul: Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Bill — In Committee 
Hutchison Paul: Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:611;Page:8179] 
Dr PAUL HUTCHISON (NZ National—Port Waikato) 
: 
 Thank you Mr Chairman for the opportunity to speak on this part of the bill. I must say— 
Hon Dr Michael Cullen 
: The late night port. 
Dr PAUL HUTCHISON 
: The late night port? What an odd remark but it has come from the left and that is totally appropriate. We have just heard Dr Rodney Hide talking about—I am sorry Rodney Hide; we will not confer an honorary doctorate on him. 
Hon Dr Michael Cullen 
: No it was Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. 
Dr PAUL HUTCHISON 
: Maybe that is more appropriate. We have heard Mr Hide talk about consumers and that is absolutely right because when it comes to pharmaceuticals we want to make sure there is safe dispensing. The whole point of this bill is to protect the public. That is absolutely vital and it depends very much on the professionalism of pharmacists. This bill has been all about quality assurance continuous quality improvement and peer review. All those things will hopefully ensure that there is safe dispensing and that the consumer will be protected. 
There has been great concern amongst pharmacies throughout the country over the last few months particularly out in small towns and hamlets like Port Waikato. That pressure has undoubtedly been influenced enormously by the dispensing change that the Minister has ushered in. I realise that the Minister will once again get that toothache—that Pavlovian response—and say it was not him but Pharmac. But undoubtedly the change has put huge pressure on pharmacies throughout the country and particularly as I say in the country areas. Pharmacists have frequently come to me and expressed their concern about the fact that the smaller pharmacies in particular may go out of business. They have been concerned about their trainees and about the flight of young pharmacists to Australia. There is no doubt that it has had an incredible effect on them. 
One aspect of this issue has been the gradual and stealthy nationalisation of the health system under Labour. For example there has been the establishment of the 21 district health boards and the extraordinarily inequitable primary health organisations. I think it is absolutely appropriate that Heather Roy has brought in Supplementary Order Paper 98 to ensure that the primary health organisations are not able to buy out pharmacies throughout the country. That is absolutely right and proper because the basis on which the primary health organisations are structured is totally inequitable. That is yet another reflection of this Labour Government’s stealthy nationalisation of the health services in New Zealand. Today the Press Club was addressed in Wellington by an English psychiatrist who said how bad the situation was in Great Britain yet that is the very model that Dr Cullen and Annette King are trying to emulate in New Zealand. The health system is becoming worse and worse in the UK and it will become worse here for New Zealand consumers because of what those Ministers are trying to do. However I think that Heather Roy’s amendment is absolutely right and proper. 
 There is another characteristic that I think is worth mentioning in this debate and that is the fact that Pharmac does dominate the situation in New Zealand. If we are to consider making major changes at some stage we will probably have to think about removing the commercial protection of Pharmac. If we are to think about getting free-trade agreements in the long term that is one of the things that we will have to think about. There is no doubt that the market in New Zealand is hugely distorted and that is one of the effects of the dominance of Pharmac.