5. Health Services—FundingHon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE (National) to the Minister of HealthHealth Services—Funding5. Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE (National) to the Minister of Health: Does he stand by all his statements and actions?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK (Minister of Health): Yes in the context they were made and taken.Hon Michael Woodhouse: Does he stand by his answer to media this morning? When asked Did the Ministry of Health give you an indication of what the DHBs were looking for?" he answered "We did."Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: I'm not quite clear—I appreciate the member's quoting back to me what his question is. Is he asking: did we get an indication from the district health boards (DHBs) of what they were after? In which case I would answer that the work that Ministers do in setting the Budget is done with the Ministry of Health who look at what they believe the demographics look like where the cost pressures sit and we prepare an answer on that basis and a Budget on that basisHon Michael Woodhouse: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Interesting answer but it didn't address the question.SPEAKER: I'll get the member—because it was a little bit unclear because it was a partial quote—to ask it again.Hon Michael Woodhouse: Does he stand by the answer he gave to media this morning? When asked "Did the Ministry of Health give you an indication of what the DHBs were looking for?" he answered "We did."Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: In the respect that the Ministry of Health works off demographic pressures and so on supplied information that DHBs hold about their area there's ongoing conversations. But I'm not quite sure where the member's heading with this.SPEAKER: I'm taking that as a "Yes probably."Hon Michael Woodhouse: Well on the basis of "Yes probably." does he also stand by his comment "District health boards this year needed at least $650 million to stand still but they're over $200 million short of what they need."—Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I believe that the honourable member is referring to statements made a long time ago not in my responsibility as a Minister.SPEAKER: Well we might get to that point. If it was a quote from before the member was a Minister there are ways of getting it in but the approach taken by the member so far doesn't.Hon Michael Woodhouse: May I rephrase the question? I didn't get to finish it.SPEAKER: Fair enough. If the member had finished it and not got there he would have used it up if it was ruled out but I'll let him have another go.Hon Michael Woodhouse: To the Minister are there statements he has made prior to obtaining his ministerial warrant that he no longer stands by?SPEAKER: Order! That is out of order. He has no responsibility for them.Hon Michael Woodhouse: To the Minister is he satisfied that district health boards were adequately funded in Budget 2018 when the amount of new money given to them was more than $200 million less than he himself said they needed?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: I reject the last part of the statement and in answer to the first yes.Hon Michael Woodhouse: Does he stand by his statement that "My job as Minister of Health is to defend the interests of the patient." and how is pending strike action by nurses in the interests of those patients?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: I am here as health Minister to defend the interests of the public patient. That is my priority as Minister.Rt Hon Winston Peters: Could the Minister give us the secret of his success with respect to his negotiations with the Minister of Finance having inherited when he got the job as Minister of Health nearly every district health board with a massive debt?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: I can't reveal too much about the Budget process but I am delighted that health got such a big chunk of the Budget and the largest increase in a decade because it was so long neglected under that Government—run down. Those people let the staff exist in a situation of underfunding where the staff were more and more stretched and the pressure went on. The health system deserves to be supported adequately so it can deliver the services that New Zealanders would expect and I'm proud that we've done that in this Budget."