Lotu-Iiga Sam: Urgent Debates — Health Ministry—Financial Management of Building ProjectText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeLotu-Iiga Sam: Urgent Debates — Health Ministry—Financial Management of Building Project[Sitting date: 08 March 2016. Volume:711;Page:9442. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon Peseta SAM LOTU-IIGA (Associate Minister of Health): I rise to stand in this urgent debate and to just outline some of the facts around what has happened in the last 2 years around these new premises. The Minister stated quite clearly and I support the Minister in this that there were savings around some of these projects in the Ministry of Health in the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Social Development for the premises of over $338 million—$338 million worth of savings. These are savings that go back into front-line services. So we get those savings by having those projects.However we also understand—and members opposite should understand—that a mistake was made. At an operational level a mistake was made around the financial management of this project. But we know that an independent review was ordered. PricewaterhouseCoopers came in did a review found some of these mistakes and changes were then made within the system—within the Ministry of Health—in order to alleviate this problem. So what changes were made? Changes were made to the financial processes that were undertaken to manage this project. What other changes were made? Changes were made to personnel to manage this particular project. What other changes were made? Changes were made in order that financial transparency around these types of projects would be completed in future. So we have got that undertaking. The Minister was quite clear in his representations to the officials that this was unacceptable—it was unacceptable.But what we also know is that there is no additional capital funding going to this project. We also know—Hon Annette King: It’s not capital any more—that’s right.Hon Peseta SAM LOTU-IIGA: And Mrs King should know—I do not know whether she does—but we also know that it does not impact on front-line services because these are departmental expenses. They are departmental expenses made by the ministry. A mistake was made and therefore there was some level of accountability in the ministry—unacceptable unacceptable.However we have heard members opposite wax lyrical about how according to Metiria Turei there is no mental health funding in Canterbury. Well that is not true—that is simply untrue. In fact there is more mental health spending in Canterbury today than there ever has been so that is untrue. We have heard Mr Tabuteau say that this is a travesty; that there is a lack of funding. What he did not say was that there has been $4 billion extra spending in the health portfolio since this Government took power—$4 billion worth of extra spending in health services in front-line services since National took power.What does that mean? I know that Mrs King is smiling because she knows the good news that National has brought to the health portfolio. She knows that there are 1700 more doctors. She knows that there are over 3500 more front-line nurses dealing with the issues and the problems—the health services dealing with the issues and the problems—that New Zealanders deal with every day. She also knows that there are 1000 fewer bureaucrats in the health portfolio than there were under the King-Clark-Cullen Government—1100 fewer backroom operators than there were under that Labour Government. So these are the facts—these are the facts. We also know that the number of employees decreased from 1500 to 1100.What we will stand on in the health portfolio is we will stand on our record. Yes mistakes are made but then they are alleviated. Problems are sorted out within ministries within departments. What we will say with the extra spending—and we heard recently that the rheumatic fever rates across this country have been halved. I know Mrs King is also proud of that fact—we know that Mrs King is proud of the fact. We also know there are no more people flying to Australia for their cancer treatment because they are being treated right here because this Government has made a commitment to those patients to fund their cancer treatment right here in Aotearoa New Zealand.We also heard from Mr Little and he said that things are out of control—that the finances are out of control. Well I say to Mr Little that we inherited a budget that would have blown out the debt in this country to over $100 billion. Treasury forecasts were quite clear that it would have been $100 billion worth of debt by 2021—by 2021 it would have been well over $100 billion—and the debt to GDP ratio would have been well over 60 percent. Mrs King also knows that we have got that ratio down to 30 percent—we have got that down to 30 percent and she knows that. We also know that this Government has run the first surplus for—Grant Robertson: His surplus!Hon Peseta SAM LOTU-IIGA: Yes it has run its first surplus due to the damage that Mrs King did—11 years ago she was the Minister of Health—and the damage that she and her mates did. And Grant was up on the 9th floor—Grant Robertson was up on the 9th floor. He was up there scheming and running debts—[Interruption] Yes running up programmes that were profligate and well outside the ambit that New Zealanders expect.Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Back to the debate.Hon Peseta SAM LOTU-IIGA: I just want to summarise by saying that this is an issue and it was unacceptable. It was a problem and the Minister has got on top of it. There are changes that have been made but New Zealanders will continue to get the high-quality health services that they have been getting under this Government. I am confident about that and I know that members opposite are too.