Stewart Barbara: Official Information (Openness of District  Health Boards New Zealand) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Stewart Barbara: Official Information (Openness of District  Health Boards New Zealand) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:633;Page:5265] 
BARBARA STEWART (NZ First) 
: 
 New Zealand First will support the Official Information (Openness of District Health Boards New Zealand) Amendment Bill going to a select committee so that there can be some further input into this whole issue and some further clarification around that agency. As Dr Blue said earlier the purpose of the bill is to amend the Official Information Act so that the entity representing district health boards in New Zealand can be subject to the Official Information Act in the same way that district health boards currently are. 
The bottom line is that agencies using public money should be accountable and should be open to scrutiny in the same way that other public entities are. I looked through my filing cabinet at my Health Committee papers from the previous 3 years to try to find some papers on District Health Boards New Zealand but really they are noticeable by their absence. We have received no financial review papers or anything to indicate that the entity is scrutinised by Parliament in any way whatsoever. It is very interesting that District Health Boards New Zealand was set up as an incorporated society which ensures that it falls outside the Official Information Act. The reasons for that need to be explored fully and during the select committee process we will no doubt be made aware of the reasons for that. On the surface it is a very interesting anomaly. 
We know that District Health Boards New Zealand carries out the business of the 21 district health boards and that its decisions impact on every New Zealander. I had to go to its website to find some information and I read that District Health Boards New Zealand was set up in 2000 “to provide a sector group through which DHBs could coordinate their activities at a national level on selected issues.” It is not a lobby group but it does support district health boards through collective activity and collaboration. I could not deduce a lot from those particular words even though they were on its website. 
I was interested to read a recent press release from the New Zealand Medical Association that definitely expressed support for this particular bill. I looked back too over past issues of  
New Zealand Doctor 
. Back in September 2001 an issue stated: “The name DHBNZ crops up frequently in the media but what exactly is this organisation and who works for it? The mystery surrounding DHBNZ is compounded by the fact that its employees say they do not usually comment in the media although the organisation is involved in many health sector policy discussions.” 
 From our point of view the role of District Health Boards New Zealand is interesting. Initially it appears to have some functions that could perhaps be appropriately carried out by the Ministry of Health. We see too from its website that it coordinates report-writing projects and provides conferences and workshops health workforce information and development projects and leadership and management programmes—a whole range of activities that hopefully add value to district health boards. That would lead one to believe that this organisation should be open to public scrutiny just as district health boards are. 
We all know here in this House that health policy is becoming an increasingly important issue in New Zealand. We know that the need for health services is increasing at a very rapid rate but as Dr Boswell from the New Zealand Medical Association has said: “We don’t need precious health dollars wasted on a private club for Government agencies.” We will be very interested to follow up further on this issue so New Zealand First definitely supports the passage of this bill to the select committee.