Shanks Katrina: Official Information (Openness of District Health Boards New Zealand) Amendment Bill — Second Reading 
Shanks Katrina: Official Information (Openness of District Health Boards New Zealand) Amendment Bill — Second Reading 
[Volume:641;Page:11613] 
KATRINA SHANKS (National) 
: 
 I rise tonight to speak to the second reading of the Official Information (Openness of District Health Boards New Zealand) Amendment Bill—for those who are listening out there and who are not quite aware of what we are talking about. I also give a special “Good evening!” to Sam Annabelle and Lachlan who are listening tonight—and watching I do believe. 
First of all I would like to congratulate Dr Jackie Blue on this bill which triggered action by the Government to bring District Health Boards New Zealand under the Official Information Act and to ensure that all of its work is subject to the complaints jurisdiction of the Ombudsman. Why is this bill so important? It is important because it brings openness transparency and accountability to district health boards. Why have they not had that before? Why has it taken until 2007 to get that? I could go back in history. I could go back to the 1900s I could go back to 1910 I could go back to 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 and to 1990. The previous speaker just spoke to 1990. What year are we in now? 2007! No no but let us spend 10 minutes addressing 1990 because that is historical. 
National is looking forward and Dr Jackie Blue in 2006 brought a member’s bill to this Parliament. Yet Labour has been on those Government benches for the last 8 years and has not even managed to address the simple issue of the Official Information Act. So why is this so important? Why is transparency important? It is because a lot of money—millions and millions billions and billions of dollars—is going into district health boards but up until now we have not had the transparency we need in talking about these big bucks that go into those health boards without accountability without openness and without the transparency that the Crown health enterprises had had. Why is that? It is because they are incorporated societies and they have not been caught in the net of the legislation. This is simple legislation to change that thanks to Dr Jackie Blue who has had the insight to bring that change herself with a member’s bill. 
But not only that. There are millions and millions and billions and billions of dollars going into the health sector. In fact I believe that this Government has brought in another—I think—$6 billion to the health sector since 1999. That is a huge amount of money for district health boards to account for. But what has it bought us? What has this accountability shown us? What has transparency shown us? It has shown that no more services have been offered. 
Let us talk for a moment about neonatal care in Wellington in 2007—today not 1990. What has the Government done about the neonatal unit in Wellington or the units in New Zealand? Why are pregnant women being threatened with having to be flown all around New Zealand to get this care? Why are they being threatened with having to fly to Australia to have their babies delivered when they cannot be delivered in New Zealand? Why cannot New Zealand deliver babies in New Zealand any more? Why have we got these shortages? Why are the services not there when another $6 billion has gone into district health boards? Where is the accountability? Where is the transparency? Where is the openness? Where is it? 
Let us go back to 1990 because that is much more relevant according to members on the other side of the House. They should go and tell those pregnant women in Wellington why 1990 is so much more important than now. They should go and live back there because we are living now and we are looking to the future. We are not living in the past like members opposite. We are the party of vision. But let us talk about section 88 of the Primary Maternity Services Notice 2007 shall we because all that funding is going into the district health boards. 
Sue Moroney 
: What is the policy now? 
KATRINA SHANKS 
: That funding is going into district health boards in 2007—the policy of that member’s party—so in 2007 the funding will go to district health boards. That is why it is important that as more money is put in there we need this transparency and openness in moving forward. It is thanks to Dr Jackie Blue who has brought this to our attention once again and got it through which the Government has not been able to do in the last 8 years. So let us talk about section 88 and maternity and the services that are being offered out there. 
Sue Moroney 
: This bill is being voted down. Did no one tell you? 
KATRINA SHANKS 
: And why is it being voted down? It is because Dr Jackie Blue has brought this to the attention of this Government and then others have got it passed. That is why we are here today. 
So let us talk about services to these women in New Zealand shall we in 1990—no in 2007 because National is looking forward; we have a vision for New Zealand unlike the tired Labour members opposite. 
Sue Moroney 
: What is your policy? 
Russell Fairbrother 
: What’s your policy? 
KATRINA SHANKS 
: Well let me talk to those members about the additional funding that is going into district health boards because that is what we want to talk about. This funding is going into the workforce of midwives general practitioner obstetricians and the obstetricians around New Zealand to deliver babies in New Zealand. But no—let me get it right. With this money that is going into this midwife sector this maternity sector why is there no retention? Why is there a workforce shortage?  
Let me give members a little story that will tell them why transparency needs to be in there and how the Government is underperforming in the health sector. Just let me tell them. If a woman is pregnant in Wellington she goes along to her general practitioner. When she goes along to her general practitioner and says she is pregnant he says: “Very good. Here is the 0800 MUM 2 BE number.” So she picks up the phone rings that number and gets someone on the end of the phone who says: “Here is a list of six people. You can ring these midwives. Ring any one of them.” But the only problem is that if that woman is more than 8 weeks pregnant if she has had a complicated pregnancy in the past or if this is her first baby her chances of getting a midwife are slim to none. That is after 8 weeks. This is New Zealand; this is Wellington we are talking about. So what do these women do? Well they cannot go to a general practitioner obstetrician because there are no general practitioner obstetricians. They have been driven— 
Sue Moroney 
: Oh there are so! 
KATRINA SHANKS 
: There is not one general practitioner obstetrician in Wellington. 
Darien Fenton 
: Oh rubbish! 
KATRINA SHANKS 
: Are you denying there is no— 
Sue Moroney 
: The Speaker hasn’t said anything actually. 
KATRINA SHANKS 
: Sorry—is the member on the Government benches denying there is no general practitioner obstetrician in Wellington because there is not one. If a woman cannot get a midwife what does she do? She pays $2500 to go to an obstetrician but that is a lot of money for many many people. Believe it or not and those members may not believe it but National appreciates the value of money and how expensive that $2500 is to a family. Even to my own family that is a lot of money. So if the woman cannot afford that $2500 and does not go to an obstetrician what happens to her? She is a pregnant woman who cannot get a midwife and as there is no general practitioner obstetrician and she cannot afford an obstetrician she defaults to the tertiary health system—to a district health board. They are not designed to take healthy women and healthy babies— 
Tariana Turia 
: They are so. 
KATRINA SHANKS 
: A hospital is not. 
Tariana Turia 
: They are so! 
KATRINA SHANKS 
: It is not the purpose of the tertiary health sector to take healthy women and healthy babies. It would much prefer women to have a midwife a general practitioner obstetrician or an obstetrician than to deliver their babies in a hospital. That is what it is about in Wellington and that is what it is about all through New Zealand. That is why it is important we get accountability and transparency in district health boards and thanks to Dr Jackie Blue that is what we will have today. 
Motion not agreed to.