Roy Heather: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Roy Heather: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:613;Page:10065] 
9.  
HEATHER ROY (ACT) 
 to the  
Minister of Health 
: Is she satisfied that the general public has had every opportunity to read and make submissions on the Ministry of Health consultation document entitled  
Constituency Arrangements for DHB Elections under STV 
; if so why? 
Hon ANNETTE KING (Minister of Health) 
: 
 Yes. The change to the single transferable vote (STV) was first announced on 23 November 2000 at which time I stated that the election for district health boards in 2001 would be on a first-past-the-post basis based on wards but in 2004 STV would be introduced using broad representation. 
Heather Roy 
: How does she square her quick and dirty consultation with submissions due tomorrow with Prime Minister Helen Clark’s 1999 election promise of wide community consultation? 
Hon ANNETTE KING 
: The Ministry of Health’s consultation document is with district health boards and local government. The public of New Zealand are having an opportunity for input into that because all the consultations are being held in public at district health board meetings. That is something we did not have before actually; all the meetings were held in private under the previous system. 
Jill Pettis 
: Could the Minister please outline to the House some of the benefits of using the at-large STV system? 
Hon ANNETTE KING 
: At-large structures under STV provide greater voter choice and flexibility. It is a fairer system as under STV all candidates would need to attract a minimum of 12.5 percent of the vote—preventing something that happened in the 2001 Whanganui District Health Board election where one member was elected with only 769 votes while in another constituency the highest-polling unsuccessful candidate received over 3000 votes. 
Dr Lynda Scott 
: Is she aware that a system of STV voting for health board members will markedly reduce rural representation on boards and does she support the call by Local Government New Zealand Zone 5 to retain constituencies; if not why not? 
Hon ANNETTE KING 
: The only thing that would restrain rural people under STV at large is not voting and they have a very good record of voting. If there were one member in a ward in a STV election that member would have to get 50 percent of the vote to be elected so one might as well have first past the post. Under this system all rural people across the whole district can vote for other rural people. 
Pita Paraone 
: Notwithstanding the example the Minister has given in support of STV is she confident that should STV proceed membership of district health boards will fairly represent the communities; if so why—given for example the Northland District Health Board where there are three distinct local body districts each with variable population figures the smallest of which is a third of the size of the next largest? 
Hon ANNETTE KING 
: Yes I do believe it will give much fairer representation because people across the whole district can vote for those candidates. They are not confined to a small area. It will certainly be much more advantageous for Maori women and minority groups because all people can vote for those candidates rather than be put into small areas in which they can vote for only a small number. It is a much fairer system which I think is the reason why it is being supported. 
Hon Ken Shirley 
: Does the Minister intend to invoke changes to the district health board election process by Order in Council prior to 30 April next year as provided by section 19 of the Health and Disability Services (Safety) Act or will she use section 20 which involves more public consultation? 
Hon ANNETTE KING 
: There will be no further consultation on the STV at-large issue. I presume that is what the member is talking about. Cabinet has made a decision in principle. We made that in 2000. We have communicated that decision over that time and we have reconfirmed the decision that it will be at large. 
Heather Roy 
: I seek the leave of the House to table the document  
Constituency Arrangements for DHB Elections under STV 
. 
Document by leave laid on the Table of the House. 
Heather Roy 
: I seek leave to table a press release from the  
Southland Times 
 dated 6 November 1999 in which the Prime Minister Helen Clark stated that she would put an end to Wellington bureaucrats deciding what was best. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table that newspaper article. Is there any objection? There is. 
Dr Lynda Scott 
: I seek leave to table the Local Government New Zealand Zone 5 report opposing STV. 
Document by leave laid on the Table of the House.