Lees-Galloway Iain: Budget Debate 
Lees-Galloway Iain: Budget Debate 
[Volume:673;Page:19160] 
IAIN LEES-GALLOWAY (Labour—Palmerston North) 
: 
 I will start by doing something that is probably a little unusual—that is congratulating Maurice Williamson on actually referring to the Budget in his speech. It is the first time I have heard anybody from that side of the House talk about this Budget and try to promote it from National’s point of view. We heard Chris Finlayson talk about 1978 and what previous Labour Governments had done and about what Labour policy might be but Maurice Williamson actually tried to talk about the Budget. Having said that of course I have to take exception to some of the points he made. 
Hon Maurice Williamson 
: Oh no! 
IAIN LEES-GALLOWAY 
: I know—I know that Mr Williamson is tremendously surprised at the position I am taking. 
Mr Williamson talked about the plan for growth and the income side of the ledger. It was interesting to hear him talk about the income side of the ledger because that is precisely what is missing from this Budget. There is no plan for growth there is no plan for jobs and there is no plan for creating a good stable business environment. Mr Williamson talked about businesses appreciating the fact that they will have customers who will have money in their pockets and who will buy those businesses’ products. Well there is absolutely nothing in this Budget to put money into the pockets of working families of working New Zealanders. People will be no better off as a result of this Budget. 
In fact the only thing this Budget focuses on is making cuts—cuts to the public sector. That is the only focus in this Budget. It is entirely focused on expenditure so there are cuts to KiwiSaver and cuts to Working for Families. Those are the sorts of things that make working New Zealanders more nervous about their financial situation and less likely to go out and spend money which is bad news for businesses in New Zealand. They will not take on more workers and will not create more jobs in this country. So the effect is in fact the exact opposite to what Mr Williamson claimed this Budget is all about. Nevertheless I appreciate the fact that Mr Williamson attempted to talk about the Budget itself because I understand why National members would refrain from doing that. It is a lacklustre Budget. It lacks a credible plan: it lacks any sort of plan for growth it lacks any sort of plan for jobs and it lacks any sort of plan for getting on top of the $16.7 billion deficit that this Government has created in just the 3 years it has been in charge. Of course members would not want to put their names to this Budget. 
I particularly want to talk about the very lacklustre approach to health care that this Budget takes; $165 million is the gap between what the Government is prepared to spend on health and what is needed for health care just to stand still. It is not good enough for members to get up and say that the Government is spending more on health care than it ever has before. Of course it is spending more on health care than it ever has before— 
Hon Dr Jonathan Coleman 
: Thank you—thank you. 
IAIN LEES-GALLOWAY 
: —because every Government I tell Mr Coleman— 
Hon Dr Jonathan Coleman 
: Dr Coleman to you sonny. 
IAIN LEES-GALLOWAY 
: —I will take that: Dr Coleman—spends more on health care each year than it did the year before. The question is what is the quantum? Is it enough to keep up with inflation? 
We know that inflation in the health system is far far greater than it is in everyday life and that people are struggling with 4.5 percent inflation in everyday life. Grant Robertson said that people are going to the supermarket and spending more on their groceries than they ever have before but that does not mean that they are getting more for that. Although we are spending more on health care we are not getting more for our health dollars. So why are Government members getting up and crowing about something that every single Government has done every year before? That is the question. 
This health Minister and this Government have their health priorities absolutely up the spout completely in the wrong place. As important as it is to focus on elective surgeries and waiting lists which are noble things that we have to get our heads around and tackle the fact of the matter is that the Government is sucking money out of what will actually improve our health system over time and what will improve the health of New Zealanders over time—that is public health care. We need to keep people well in this country so that we can reduce the demand on our health services which are already stretched. But there is no plan—there is absolutely no plan from this Government to improve the well-being of New Zealanders. That means that for year after year the demand on our health system will simply remain the same—if not get worse—as our population ages and as we see more and more problems in our population. We all know that the greater the disparity between the haves and the have-nots the more health issues we will see in our nation. 
This Government is creating a much greater gap between those who have and those who do not have. That growing inequality will cause more costs in the health system over time than any other thing this Government could possibly do. This Budget is the second in a row that has failed to meet the cost of delivering current health services and if this track continues then our health system will be in a huge amount of trouble in a very very short period of time. 
The cost of living in this country is an issue that all New Zealanders are having to grapple with as costs go way beyond what people can afford while their wages stay static. One of the things—and this is important for the health system—that helps to keep the cost of living under control in this country is affordable medicine both through Pharmac and through the fact that the Government subsidises prescriptions so that people can get medicines at a reasonable rate. But there is a huge threat looming to the affordability of medicines in this country and it is the fact that as we negotiate the Trans-Pacific Partnership this Government is not prepared to take Pharmac off the bargaining table. It is not prepared to say to New Zealanders that it values affordable medicine in this country and that it values the fact that people are able to access medicines at an affordable rate—that cost is no barrier to getting medicines in this country. 
The Government is not prepared to say to New Zealanders that it values the fact that our health system saves $700 million every year because of the way that Pharmac acts. It is not prepared to say that; it is not prepared to take Pharmac off the bargaining table. That is something that would give New Zealanders surety but the Government is simply just not prepared to do it. I say that it is about time the Government was unequivocal and said that because we have a fantastic system in Pharmac which keeps down the cost of living in New Zealand and makes medicines affordable and accessible then the Government will not negotiate that away for anything. Yes things have to go on the table; that is what bargaining is all about. But there is nothing that can be worth bargaining away our access to affordable medicine in this country and it is well overdue for this Government to say that Pharmac is coming off the bargaining table. 
In addition to the fact that the Government is underfunding our health system to the tune of $165 million it has dumped another huge pressure on district health boards by refusing to fund the cost of health workers’ KiwiSaver schemes. That in itself is worth $45 million. That is $45 million extra that district health boards around this country will have to find out of their budgets—out of their budgets every year. Those budgets are already being stretched by the $165 million gap; add to that the $45 million gap in KiwiSaver and wages for health workers. That money has to come from somewhere. It can come from only one of two places: either cuts to health services or increased charges to patients. People do not need to be paying more to visit the doctor. The cost of visiting the doctor is enough of a barrier. We do not need new charges being brought into the health system. It is outrageous that Government members stand up and say what a wonderful job the Government is doing for our health system when it is effectively cutting money out of the system and then washing its hands and telling the district health boards they have to find the money it is cutting. 
This is a lacklustre Budget. It does nothing for hard-working Kiwis it does nothing for business in New Zealand it does nothing for growth it does nothing for jobs and it is abysmal on health care. It is no wonder that the Opposition is so deeply opposed to this Budget.