Barry Maggie: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Barry Maggie: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Sitting date: 31 July 2012. Volume:682;Page:4069. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
6. 
MAGGIE BARRY (National—North Shore) 
 to the  
Minister of Health 
: Has any progress been made on the Zero Fees for Under Sixes scheme taking coverage over and above the 70 percent of children covered in 2008 achieved by the previous Government? 
Hon TONY RYALL (Minister of Health) 
: 
 Yes great progress. This Government despite very tight financial times and other countries cutting their health budgets has put an additional $17 million into the free under-sixes daytime general practitioner services. Now the percentage of children aged under 6 who are enrolled at a practice offering free general practitioner visits during the day is 93 percent. What is more if you look at the poorest families we have lifted the proportion of high-needs children aged less than 6 years old who are receiving free general practitioner visits during the day to 98 percent. This is all about lifting everybody especially those most in need. 
Maggie Barry 
: What progress is the Government making with free after-hours visits for under-6-year-olds? 
Hon TONY RYALL 
: Over 90 percent of children under 6 have access to free after-hours doctors’ visits. One of the benefits of this new programme from the Government is that it has encouraged more general practitioners to join the zero fees scheme and offer free doctors’ visits during the day. For example in Wellington Capital and Coast District Health Board now has 100 percent of its practices offering free visits during the day and all children in the region have access to free after-hours general practitioner visits. The West Coast District Health Board has also achieved this fantastic result. This is yet another preventive health investment the Government is making at the top of the cliff as part of its increase of around $2 billion of extra funding in public health services—a very very significant increase internationally. 
Hon Maryan Street 
: What progress has been made to roll out free after-hours care for under-sixes in the southern region given that even as late as 2 weeks ago there were only three practices listed to provide those services in the whole region and one of Dunedin’s main after-hours providers had not signed up because it was not satisfied it could cope with the demand? 
Hon TONY RYALL 
: There are free after-hours general practitioner services available in Dunedin. There are negotiations under way particularly for the more rural areas. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: Is this policy of “lifting everybody especially those in need” free general practitioner visits the very same policy that New Zealand First introduced having been opposed by the National Party which described it as improvident squanderous and wasteful? 
Hon TONY RYALL 
: That is so long ago. What I would say is that yes that policy was introduced under the National - New Zealand First coalition Government a Government that I remember and I certainly enjoyed working with that member when we sold a minority stake I recall in Auckland International Airport. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Did you notice that add-on which usually— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! The member will resume his seat. I can hear immediately that this is not a point of order. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: You must be clairvoyant then. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I am. The member need only reflect back on the question he asked. He invited the Minister to comment in his question. He invited the Minister to comment on New Zealand First’s previous policies. If members invite Ministers to comment they will. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Which part of my question to the Minister is inaccurate and not true or was something that invited that response? 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I invite him to go back and read his question again. He asked the Minister whether a certain policy that had come in had been introduced by the New Zealand First Party when it was in Government. He invited therefore the Minister to comment on matters to do with the New Zealand First Party. When members do that if they wish to—I had better be careful of the language I use—if they invite Ministers to comment on matters to do with their own parties they should not seek the Speaker’s help if the Ministers comment in a manner that the members did not expect. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. What happened to the Standing Order where Ministers are required in their answers to be terse and to the point? 
Mr SPEAKER 
: It is very simple. The member runs risks. Let me therefore put it more bluntly if the member is not seeing it. If members during question time wish to grandstand they are inviting Ministers to comment on the issues they are raising. Question time is about asking Ministers for matters they are responsible for. I do not believe this Minister was responsible for the matter the member raised; therefore the member was a little surprised at the answer he got. But it is a lesson in asking questions. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. He is the Minister in charge of the extension of the free general practitioner visits policy. This is a simple matter of a reminder to the Minister of some historical fact which is relevant to the issue. It is not grandstanding— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! The member will resume his seat immediately if he wishes to stay in the House. The House does not carry on in this way. Such points of order are totally unnecessary and the member should reflect on it next time he asks questions.