King Annette: Oral Questions — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeKing Annette: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 05 May 2016. Volume:713;Page:10828. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]3.Hon ANNETTE KING (Deputy Leader—Labour) to the Minister of Health: Will core Crown health expenditure in 2016/17 meet all health demographic and inflationary cost pressures; if not why not?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN (Minister of Health): The member will be very surprised to hear that she like everyone else will just have to wait until Budget day. But what I can tell her in advance is that Budget 2016 will feature the highest ever new investment in medicines in a year—$39 million bringing Pharmac’s budget to $850 million in total.Hon Annette King: Will the Ministry of Health be forced in 2016 to make savings to cover cost pressures in the disability support services budget given it was required to find $37 million this year to cover the shortfall in funding?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: The member will just have to wait—21 sleeps to go.Hon Annette King: Will disabled people living at home with support bear the brunt of any shortfall in funding in 2016 as they have this year because the Ministry of Health cut $8.2 million from services by curtailing demand?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: The member knows the answer to that one—it is the same as for the first two questions—but what I would say is that she should stop promising everything to everyone because it just does not work. [Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: No no no. We will just have the supplementary question.Hon Annette King: Will Budget 2016 fully fund the recent sleepover settlement having underfunded the settlement by $13 million this financial year; if not why not?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: I will tell you what it will not do. It will not double the health budget and cut 7000 people—Mr SPEAKER: Order! [Interruption] No. [Interruption] Order! I want the question answered—I want an answer to the question that was asked. Does the member want to repeat the question to assist the Minister?Hon Annette King: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. When you were standing on your feet and ruling the Minister was saying it was stupid and I think he ought to apologise to you.Mr SPEAKER: I did not hear that. If the member wants to ask the question again we can move on.Hon Annette King: Will Budget 2016 fully fund the recent sleepover settlement having underfunded the settlement by $13 million this financial year; if not why not?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: As I say 21 sleeps to go.Hon Annette King: How much is he planning to put aside for deficit support for district health boards in Budget 2016 in light of his announcement yesterday that the deficits are “about $60 million” up by $14 million in just 2 months and nowhere near—Mr SPEAKER: Order! Bring the question to a conclusion.Hon Annette King: —the $19 million he planned for the whole year?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: What I can say is we will not need the $160 million of deficit support that Mrs King would have needed to fund her ever-expanding deficits as health Minister. We have got them down to about $60 million and they are getting lower all the time.Hon Annette King: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. The Minister on several occasions has made claims about when I was the Minister of Health. In fact the dates that he uses for when I was the Minister of Health I was not. I think it is important that he remembers it is 11 years since I was the Minister and I stopped being the Minister in 2005.Mr SPEAKER: If the member feels she is being misrepresented can I refer her to Standing Order 359.Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. You cannot allow the member to use a point of order to make a debating point. It is just not on. [Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! [Interruption] No. I need no need further assistance. I certainly need no further assistance on this. The member in quite a long way suggested misrepresentation. She is entitled to do that. I have suggested the remedy she must then take.Hon Annette King: When will he stop the smoke-and-mirrors routine with the health budget especially for the people of Canterbury where he was forced to put in $6.6 million for mental health services recently while at the same time demanding the district health board make $15 million in cuts?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: I do not accept that at all. There is $254 million of extra funding that has gone into that district health board over the last 7 years. We have put in an extra $86 million to support the district health board through the earthquakes including actually on top of that another $20 million just recently for mental health. So I am afraid you are on the wrong track.