Genter Julie AnneJULIE ANNE GENTER (Green): Thank you Mr Chair. Tēnā koe. Tēnā koutou e Te Whare. Before the dinner break the Minister of Health in his speech mentioned that more money was being spent than ever before and so obviously there had been an increase in funding from 8 years ago under the previous Government. Of course there has in nominal terms been an increase in funding but that does not take into account the fact that the population has grown significantly particularly in the last few years. There has been inflation we have an ageing population and in some areas like mental health the Minister himself has already acknowledged that we are feeling increased demand. We are experiencing increased demand for mental services as are many other countries around the world. When we take into account all of these different factors the reality is that after 8 years under the National Government our health system is underfunded by about $1.7 billion to $1.8 billion.I have found in the 7 to 8 months that I have had the health spokesperson portfolio and have been out there talking to people who work in the sector that it is a universal opinion—whether they are nurses doctors or specialists—that they are all experiencing understaffing at times and burnout particularly in certain sectors. There is only so long we can ask people to do more with less before our health services really start to suffer as a consequence.I am sure the Minister himself knows this but the reality is that this National Government is far more concerned with political management and spin so those members will get out here and they will say: We are doing better than ever before. The health system is doing great. We are doing more with less." They will continue to say that even though the reality on the ground is that people working in the sector and people trying to access services in the sector are not being well served by this approach.Nowhere is this more clear than in the mental health system where it is very very clear that we have a system that has been stretched nearly to breaking point. We require not only increased funding—and increased funding is really important to deliver those services—but we probably need a nationwide inquiry to ensure that we are able to meet the increasing demand for mental health support in the most effective way possible.During the annual review we heard that there was a reduction of the number of acute adult in-patient beds for mental health patients. That means that even at a time of increased demand and increased population growth there are fewer beds available to people who are in an acute state of distress. We know also that those wards generally are being understaffed so the mental health nurses are having to work additional shifts. They are tired they are stressed out and they are not able to deliver the services that people in acute distress need. We have also heard stories of unwell patients being discharged from mental health units so that more unwell people can get a bed. That is the reality now.The key performance indicators in mental health and addiction services show that at district health boards around the country very few are achieving their targets in terms of support both pre- and post - in-patient care. There is no question that this is why we have not made any progress on our shockingly high suicide rate. Our youth suicide rate is something that we should be ashamed of and we simply need to address it.My grandmother used to say to me—she was from Ireland—"Julie Anne you haven't got anything if you haven't got your health." I would say that most New Zealanders would know this to be true. It is worth investing in those preventative services that are going to ensure that our people are able to recover or in fact do not even get to the point where they need to be admitted to hospital. If we take the approach that we are going to prioritise tax cuts particularly for the wealthy and we are not going to increase the funding for the health sector even though we have increased population growth and increased demands on health services then we are going to start to lose that great public health system that New Zealanders value so much.The Green Party would make health a priority. It is not just the hospitals; it is actually the social determinants of health. It is housing it is transport it is the way our cities work it is education and it is poverty. Addressing all of these things is how we improve the health of our society. Improving the health of our society we are achieving everything it is that we want out of life. Kia ora."