Little AndrewHon ANDREW LITTLE (Minister of Health): As I so often am when that member Shane Reti resumes his seat I am completely confused. Now is that member complaining that we set targets or that we don't set targets because I'm just a little bit confused about why he offers examples of both. But what I'm even more confused about is why he of all members of this House would want to enter into an argument about comparative funding of the health system between two Governments. If you want to have a look at that member's party in Government and funding health it is an absolute disgrace. Barely $1 billion over nine years was put into new facilities and IT for the health system. No wonder why there are buildings now including in the electorate that that member used to represent that are literally falling down around health workers' ears and an IT system that is struggling to keep up. This Government on the other hand in less than four years has committed more than $5.5 billion just in that period alone in new buildings and IT. Look what they did with mental health: nine years of sheer and utter neglect. They just did not listen to a single New Zealand citizen about the problems with mental health. Not like this Government. We went out there and we listened and we made the investments and they are yielding good benefits right now.But I want to take the opportunity now to acknowledge actually the healthcare workers of this country because they are doing an absolutely tremendous job. They have inherited the legacy of the previous Government's frankly criminal underfunding of the health system. They are wearing the cost of it and we are doing the best we can to support them for it but I want to acknowledge right across the health system right across the motu the work that our healthcare workers do. Right now in Auckland of course they are really under the pump. It is really in Auckland that has been the focus of the impact of the COVID-19 outbreaks for the last 18 months. It's the Auckland health system that has borne the brunt of that and Auckland healthcare workers. I hear them when they say it is really tough. It's not acceptable that so many healthcare workers when they finish their shift finish fatigued exhausted sometimes distressed and reluctant to come back to work the next day. We are addressing that. There are a number of issues we need to do to address that but I want to acknowledge that because it's their work they do day in day out. All those healthcare workers at the Auckland metro hospitals Waitematā and Counties Manukau and at the Auckland District Health Board are the ones who every day know and have to shoulder the risk of COVID-19 in their workplaces and they're doing a tremendous job.So when we have incidents like the one we did have at Middlemore Hospital on the weekend let's just understand that particularly at Middlemore Hospital where they have two COVID wards and where they have treated the largest number of COVID patients in the last 18 months they know about infection prevention and control. They know what measures are needed. They make those clinical judgments day in day out dealing with the hundreds of patients who turn up there. They exercised their judgment on the best information they had on Saturday and Sunday in the weekend just gone. This is a system under pressure but it is a system under greater pressure because we are still trying to catch up with the years of under-investment.On the issues of workforce I'm pleased to report to this House that the negotiations with the nurses on pay equity are now under way because we know that that is a significant issue nurses have been talking about for many many years. Actually it's been an issue for generations and this is a Government that is getting on and dealing with it working with nurses and their representatives to do that. We are working with nurses on reviewing the Safer Staffing Accord that we entered into lifting numbers so that nurses knew that when they turned up to work knew that when they were working their shifts they would have the cover and the support that they need. It isn't working everywhere and some DHBs have been remiss in not completing the roll-out of it. We need to know why. We need to know what more needs to be done so that working in our hospitals as a nurse is a safe place to be.We need to continue to work with other clinicians and fill the gaps that we know are there for those other senior clinical roles. We need to work on the long-term issue of developing that future pipeline of health talent. We know that it is there. One of the great benefits of Health NZ when we come to implement that—and I know Dr Reti is not a fan of it but actually in every meeting I go to with health workers and senior clinicians they all say Can we just have it quickly? Can you bring it on because this is going to offer us great benefits." One of the benefits it will offer us is the means and the scope and the heft to actually do that long-term workforce planning engage with the colleges engage with the other professional organisations engage with the training organisations so we can actually start planning in the long term for where we're going to get that future workforce from. I salute the New Zealand health system workforce. They are doing a tremendous job under difficult circumstances and we will continue to work with them to have their back."