Chadwick Steve: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Chadwick Steve: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:627;Page:21907] 
7.  
STEVE CHADWICK (Labour—Rotorua) 
 to the  
Minister of Health 
: What reports if any has she received concerning future Government health expenditure? 
Hon ANNETTE KING (Minister of Health) 
: 
 I have seen a Treasury - Ministry of Health Budget bilateral report which informed Government Budget decision-making. This paper identifies that the health sector is stable and that a number of very significant policy priorities have been progressed within the vote. The report also mentions the review that the Minister of Finance and I have commissioned on the sustainability of health expenditure—further evidence that this Government is committed to continuing to spend money wisely. 
Steve Chadwick 
: Has the Minister seen any other reports on health spending? 
Hon ANNETTE KING 
: Yes. I have seen some very confusing reports about comments made by the National Party leader Don Brash. On Tuesday morning Dr Brash said on National Radio that his party would spend more money on health care than we are doing now. Well that is not hard; one would have to spend only a dollar more to say one was spending more. But something happened during the day. By Tuesday evening Dr Brash when interviewed by Paul Holmes refused to say whether he would spend more than is currently committed. Perhaps he had been told about— 
Madam SPEAKER 
: Would the Minister please sit down. The first part of the answer was fine. You can refer to reports. But once you start to speculate on other parties’ policies that is out of order. Would you like to reconsider your answer? 
Hon ANNETTE KING 
: I was in fact quoting from those reports. The reports come from the transcript of the National Radio programme on which Dr Brash was interviewed and from the Paul Holmes interview. 
Rodney Hide 
: I raise a point of order Madam Speaker. What the Minister is doing now— 
Madam SPEAKER 
: Members will be quiet. I cannot hear the point of order. 
Rodney Hide 
: What the Minister is doing now is a direct challenge to the Speaker. You ruled that she could not answer with speculations on another party’s policy. You said that she could not do that. She then stood up there and tried to use the device that she was reading from a report and carried on in direct defiance of a Speaker’s ruling. You have thrown me out for that—and quite rightly because you have to maintain order in this House. A Minister is now acting in her answer to a question in direct defiance of your ruling. 
Madam SPEAKER 
: I thank the member. Because the level of noise is slowly rising I had not realised the Minister was still reading from a report. I thought she had moved from the report to speculation. She is perfectly entitled to make a reference to a report. Members must keep the level of noise down. 
Rodney Hide 
: I raise a point of order Madam Speaker. So is it your ruling now that it is OK to speculate— 
Madam SPEAKER 
: I am sorry but I did not say that. 
Rodney Hide 
: Let me finish. Is it your ruling that it is OK for members to speculate on another party’s policies as long as they say they are reading from a Labour Party report? That is not allowed. Members cannot say they are reading from a report and then speculate on policies. 
Madam SPEAKER 
: I am sorry. That is not a point of order and it challenges my ruling. If it is a reference to a report that is fine. If it speculates on what may be that is definitely out of order because the Minister has no responsibility for that. But if it is in a report yes it is OK. 
Dr Paul Hutchison 
: What will the Minister do about the facts that Treasury reports continue to show productivity concerns with regard to the health system that successive health and independence reports show little evidence of improved outcomes and that a report on primary health organisation management shows that many primary health organisations need propping up financially; is that not a pathetic record after spending an additional $3.5 billion? 
Hon ANNETTE KING 
: No. 
Peter Brown 
: What funding increases does the Minister believe there should be to the health budget on an annual basis to address the health problems of an increasing ageing population? 
Hon ANNETTE KING 
: There is no right amount of money to be spent on health. Each country decides what the appropriate level of expenditure is. At this point New Zealand sits at about the middle of the OECD in terms of expenditure.