King Annette: Oral Questions — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeKing Annette: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 30 April 2015. Volume:704;Page:3075. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]1.Hon ANNETTE KING (Deputy Leader—Labour)to the Minister of Health: Does he stand by all his statements?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN (Minister of Health):Yes within the context in which they were made.Hon Annette King: Does he stand by his statement that “this Government has always made funding health its top spending priority”; if so why has the number of people refused a first specialist appointment—particularly orthopaedic appointments—increased in some district health boards over the past 3 years under this Government?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: Yes I do.Hon Annette King: If health funding is a top spending priority why has the number of people refused a first specialist assessment for orthopaedics in the Bay of Plenty increased by 396 percent over the last 3 years under this Government?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: That is not actually correct. The reality is that that data has not been collected. This Government is the first Government ever to collect that data and that will be available sometime in mid-2016. But I can tell you that the Labour Government never paid any attention—Mr SPEAKER: Order!Hon Annette King: I seek leave to table an Official Information Act request I have received from the Bay of Plenty District Health Board pointing out—Mr SPEAKER: Order! The document has been described. You do not need to say what it says. I am happy to put the leave on that basis. It is an Official Information Act request received from a particular district health board. Is there any objection to that being tabled? There is not. It can be tabled.Document by leave laid on the Table of the House.Hon Annette King: If health funding is a top spending priority why has the number of people from the West Coast who have been refused a first specialist assessment for orthopaedics increased from 11 to 200 over the past 3 years?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: I would like to see that document because that information has never been collected. So there is a very incomplete picture which this Government is building up. We are the first Government ever to do it.Hon Annette King: I seek leave to table an Official Information Act request from the West Coast District Health Board pointing out the increase—Mr SPEAKER: Order! [Interruption] Order! The document has been described. I will put the leave. It is an Official Information Act request obtained from the West Coast District Health Board. Is there any objection to that being tabled? There is not.Document by leave laid on the Table of the House.Hon Annette King: Does he stand by his statement that the chair of the Tairāwhiti District Health Board did not say “We have used all the fat in the system. We are really stretched. We can’t sustain this pressure” in light of the email I have now received that confirms that the chair actually checked the report prior to its publication?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: I have spoken to Mr Scott today and his point actually—and he is very annoyed about it—is that he was quoted out of context yesterday. His words were: “Annette King is way out of line.”Hon Annette King: Point of order Mr Speaker—[Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! I have a point of order from the Hon Annette King and it will be heard in silence.Hon Annette King: I seek leave to table an email from the Gisborne Herald that points out that the chair—Mr SPEAKER: Order! [Interruption] Order! On the basis that the statement has been disputed in the answers given I will put the leave. It will be for the House to decide whether that particular email would give further information to the House. Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? There is objection.Hon Annette King: “Who cares?” says the Minister.Mr SPEAKER: There was objection. [Interruption]Order!Just ask the supplementary question. There was an objection. [Interruption] Order! I heard an objection coming from my right-hand side. The easiest way forward is I will put the leave again. Leave is sought to table that particular email. Is there any objection? There is objection. Supplementary question—[Interruption] Order! Every member has a right when leave is put to object. It does not need to take a chorus from my left-hand side to note it.Hon Annette King: Supplementary question Mr Speaker—Mr SPEAKER: I will accept the supplementary question when the member’s own colleagues settle down.Hon Annette King: Has he seen the report in the Gisborne Herald today about the Tairāwhiti District Health Board’s financial position which is now reporting a $2.1 million deficit which is worse than budgeted; if so why is it having these problems if it has got sufficient funding?Mr SPEAKER: The Hon Dr Jonathan Coleman—either of those two supplementary questions.Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: I have not seen that report. The report I have seen is the one from January where the chair of the board said that actually the funding is adequate.Hon Annette King: Why should New Zealanders believe or trust this Minister when he told this House on 22 October last year that New Zealand had four isopods to safely transport Ebola patients to high-level isolation when the Ministry of Health advised Barbara Stewart Kevin Hague and me on 30 October that it was still waiting for them to arrive in New Zealand?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: What I think is very interesting about that is that the member was given a briefing in good faith and she said that she would accept it in good faith and that what happened in the briefing would stay in the briefing. She has clearly broken it. She is impugning my integrity. I think that actually it reflects much worse on her. [Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! We had complaints yesterday about the level of noise coming from some on my left. I will have no choice today but to be asking a member to leave if that sort of level of interjection continues.