Heatley Phil: Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Bill — In Committee 
Heatley Phil: Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:611;Page:8062] 
PHIL HEATLEY (NZ National—Whangarei) 
: 
 I gladly rise to speak on the title. I would like to shorten the title even more and call this bill the “Incompetent Bill”. I am sure that members on this side of the Chamber would agree that “Incompetent Bill” would be a good title for this legislation. I have heard from throughout the electorate of Whangarei and Northland and from those throughout New Zealand who write to me widely that this legislation will create chaos in the health sector. 
Hon Harry Duynhoven 
: How many letters has the member had? 
PHIL HEATLEY 
: Harry Duynhoven the “Abel Tasman” of the Labour Party who came to New Zealand and decided that he did not like it and went home should read the bill before he shouts at this member who has consulted widely throughout the country on this matter. Health practitioners throughout the country say that there will be chaos in the health system because of this legislation. 
I want the Minister to know that I have consulted widely on this matter. Not only have constituents come to me. My family—and I would like the Minister of Health to take this into account—is riddled with health professionals. I am married to a nurse. I have a sister who is a nurse a sister-in-law who is a nurse a mother who is a nurse and a grandmother who was a registered nurse God bless her soul and may she rest in peace. Also my father and mother-in-law are anaesthetists and my father worked in occupational therapy. So many of my family members are in the health profession and I have consulted widely at dinner after dinner breakfast after dinner lunch after dinner and on it goes. Out of interest I can tell the chair that because we have so many health professionals in our family my wedding day was voted the safest in history—there were so many health professionals there. In fact to add more to the argument I point out that my brother-in-law is a funeral director and should the rest of the family fail he will pick it up at the other end. 
The Minister should take notice of that and she should know that she is not welcome in my home for Christmas dinner because she is harming every one of them in their careers as they seek to help New Zealanders. So she is not welcome for Christmas dinner in my home. I have not only consulted widely those in my family who are involved in the health profession but also those throughout the electorate that I represent. I have consulted pharmacists optometrists those in the dental profession nurses occupational therapists physiotherapists psychologists dietitians and on it goes and they are all saying that there will be chaos with this bill and that is why it should be renamed the “Incompetent Bill.” 
I am interested in the slant put on cultural issues and cultural respect in the bill. As if people when they take their children to the doctor or medical professional are concerned about cultural issues! They just want their kids to get well. That is all they want. Why this legislation focuses so much on cultural issues I have no idea. When Maori Pacific Islanders and all other New Zealanders take their kids to the doctor they want their kids to get well and that is their primary concern—not all the other mumbo-jumbo which the Minister is promoting that goes with it. I was concerned to see so many other groups that wanted to line up as registered health professionals in this country. They include acupuncturists herbal medicine practitioners homeopaths hypnotherapists and on the list goes. They all want to be recognised by this Minister who willy-nilly through the bill has decided to make all health professionals accountable to the nth degree and wants to stand over all of them following their scalpels as they repair New Zealanders on the operating table.