5. Question No. 5—HealthBROOKE VAN VELDEN (Deputy Leader—ACT) to the Minister of HealthQuestion No. 5—Health5. BROOKE VAN VELDEN (Deputy Leader—ACT) to the Minister of Health: Does he stand by his Government not including a rural health strategy for the approximately 750000 New Zealanders who live rurally or remotely in the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Bill?Hon ANDREW LITTLE (Minister of Health): Yes. The Government was pleased to see a wide range of submissions on the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Bill earlier this year. It highlighted the level of excitement across Aotearoa New Zealand for improved health outcomes. On the question of different health strategies mandated by statute there were nearly 20 proposals for distinct health strategies. I'm satisfied that the list of distinct strategies now provided for in the bill provides the necessary cover and that the needs of rural communities will be fully addressed including through the locality planning process.Brooke van Velden: Why does the health reform have a hauora Māori strategy a Pacific health strategy and a disability strategy but not a rural health strategy when rural health was mentioned over 80 times in the Health and Disability System Review and it was identified that people living in rural towns can have poorer health outcomes—SPEAKER: Order! Order! Order! The member I think had about four legs to that. I'll let the Minister answer one or two of them.Hon ANDREW LITTLE: Thank you Mr Speaker. I think the member will be aware of course that of the 750000 people she referred to in her primary question—which relates to the second question she asked—of course many are women many are Māori many are Pacific some are disabled. So the strategies that have been identified for the purpose of the bill cover areas of a population I think where the failure to provide service has in some respects been egregious. But no one has been overlooked; there is a New Zealand - wide health plan and locality planning networks will give rural communities way more say than was ever the case before.Brooke van Velden: Can he guarantee that access to mental health services and midwives will improve for rural New Zealanders under his reforms and if so does he have a strategy to reach for this improved access?Hon ANDREW LITTLE: What I am confident of is that with the system that will take effect from 1 July subject to the legislation passing rural communities will have a much better chance of seeing the services that they really need in their rural communities delivered in the way that makes sense to them and makes sense to the Government who is funding it. So there will be a difference and it will be a positive difference for members of rural communities.Brooke van Velden: How can he guarantee that localities will improve outcomes for rural New Zealanders when he can't say how many localities there will be and rural GPs still have no details about how these reforms will create better access to faster treatments?Hon ANDREW LITTLE: As I think I said in an earlier question in today's question time there is a process for identifying localities based on some very broad criteria and that is yet to happen right across the country. What we do know though is from the nine locality prototypes that have been established—most of which have a strong rural community dimension to them—that it's an opportunity to test how that works; to draw in the health providers in those areas; to draw on the community voices including rural community voices to make sure that they get the best health services they possibly can get in their communities.Brooke van Velden: Why are rural New Zealanders so often overlooked and forgotten by this Government and is this just the latest case of the Government ignoring the needs of rural New Zealand?SPEAKER: No. Before the Minister answers I'm going to invite the member to rephrase her question.Brooke van Velden: Why are rural New Zealanders so often overlooked by this Government?Hon ANDREW LITTLE: Rural communities are not overlooked; they're highly valued by this Government. That is why the first nine locality prototypes announced for the new health reforms—at least seven of them have very significant rural communities attached to them. They will have a strong voice in the new process and rural communities will be better served with health services as a result.