Ryall Tony: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Ryall Tony: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:628;Page:392] 
8.  
Hon TONY RYALL (National—Bay of Plenty) 
 to the  
Minister of Health 
: To what extent will he have adequate plans and legislation to deal with a potential influenza pandemic in place by the end of the year? 
Hon PETE HODGSON (Minister of Health) 
: 
 The view of most experts including that of Professor Webster on  
Morning Report  
this morning is that New Zealand is as well prepared as any nation—better prepared than most—but that planning needs to be ongoing. The Government’s view is certainly that planning and raising public awareness is an ongoing matter. Plans to address legislative gaps or potential gaps were publicly discussed last week. 
Hon Tony Ryall 
: Given that a pandemic is likely to see hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders isolated at home who will treat those sick people and who has responsibility for doing that? 
Hon PETE HODGSON 
: One answer is all of us when the numbers get as high as that. I think it is probably important to reflect on the fact that social disruption would follow if all of us did not have some role to play. However the Ministry of Health and the Government have a role certainly in the distribution of any Tamiflu and the distribution of any advice on how to reduce the effects of the flu or indeed to reduce its contagious abilities. District health boards have a role folk who work in the health sector have a role—because they have special abilities—and of course those of us with families have a role. 
Barbara Stewart 
: Has the Ministry of Health advised district health boards that they will not have access to the national stockpile of antiviral drugs in the event of a pandemic; if so what is the likelihood of their being able to purchase sufficient quantities at this stage? 
Hon PETE HODGSON 
: No it has not. The situation with regard to district health boards and Tamiflu is as follows: for the past year or more district health boards have been free to go and get some Tamiflu. They have been invited by the Ministry of Health to consider whether they should; some have and some have not. There is a stockpile of a little over 800000 doses which will be made available throughout the country in the event of a pandemic arriving here. Included in that distribution will of course be district health boards because they will need some. 
Hon Tony Ryall 
: I raise a point of order Madam Speaker. I want to be helpful to the Minister. He may have misheard the question which asked whether the Ministry of Health has advised district health boards to prepare for additional supplies of Tamiflu—which they would have to do— and the Minister replied “No …”. He may in fact want to seek the Speaker’s indulgence to re-answer the question because the Minister would not want to give the wrong information if he is aware of it. 
Hon PETE HODGSON 
: If that were the question and I did not hear it correctly then the ministry said to district health boards some time ago that they should feel free to get some Tamiflu—to consider it as an option—and some have done so. The issue about whether district health boards will get access to the national stockpile of Tamiflu is as I said that it will be made available to those who need it depending on the stage of the pandemic—whether we are trying to stamp it out or whether we are trying to manage it—and some district health boards depending on where the pandemic flu is or has reached will of course have access to some of the stockpile because they will need it. 
Hon Tony Ryall 
: When is the Government planning a coordinated whole-of-Government rehearsal for dealing with a pandemic? 
Hon PETE HODGSON 
: I think probably closer to the time. There is one scheduled under general emergency—[ 
Interruption 
] 
Madam SPEAKER 
: I just tell members that it is sometimes difficult to hear and I am sure all members would like to hear the response. 
Hon PETE HODGSON 
: Quinquennial planning has been going on. It first occurred in 2002 so it would not happen again until 2007. But if indeed there is indication of human-to-human transfer before then—and there may well be—then I am sure there will be a need for the planning that the member has in mind. I can say in addition to that that emergency planners from district health boards are meeting on a regular basis. The next meeting is I think on 15 December. 
Sue Moroney 
: What steps have been taken by the Government to inform and engage with the public on influenza pandemic planning? 
Hon PETE HODGSON 
: New Zealand has been planning around epidemics including but not limited to influenza for several years. We began in February 2002. The avian influenza planning has been going on for about 11 or 12 months. My predecessor the Hon Annette King ordered Tamiflu in I think November or December of last year. She was responsible for one of the first orders of its size in the world and needs to be congratulated on that. Last week I released version 14 of our plan; the first version I saw was version 13. During the past 6 months the Ministry of Health has undertaken a wide range of public awareness - raising campaigns. More are under way. 
Hon Tony Ryall 
: If the Minister had gone to the Health Committee meeting this morning he would have learnt that the ministry is planning a coordinated whole-of-Government rehearsal for late 2007; and what sort of preparation is that? 
Hon PETE HODGSON 
: That is precisely what I told the member. There is epidemic planning not influenza planning quinquennially. It was begun by my predecessor the Hon Annette King. If it turns out that there is human-to-human contact—not for any old epidemic but for avian influenza—before then then that planning will need to be advanced. 
Dr Jonathan Coleman 
: Does the Minister of Foreign Affairs as a Minister outside Cabinet fail to qualify for the special reserve of the antiviral drug Tamiflu because by the Ministry of Health’s criteria he would be regarded as neither a key decision maker nor an essential service? 
Hon PETE HODGSON 
: There is always a price to pay for making politics out of emergency planning. However given the member has asked the question let me give him an answer. The reason for having a list of people who might— 
Hon Tony Ryall 
: You said there was no list. 
Hon PETE HODGSON 
: I did. I did say there was no list. I said I was unaware of any list and I became aware of it at 3.30 yesterday afternoon. The reason that list has been drawn up is as follows: officials needed to get an idea of what proportion of our 800000 doses ought to be held back so they listed the number of police nurses defence staff etc. threw in 50 decision makers and came up with a figure of about 10 percent in version 1 of that paper. I just say to the member that the early response to version 1 of the paper is that the 10 percent figure may be a little low. 
Rodney Hide 
: I raise a point of order Madam Speaker. We gave the Minister the courtesy of silence so we might hear the answer and we actually did not get one. The question was whether poor Mr Winston Peters will get some of the vaccine. We have not actually heard an answer on that. 
Madam SPEAKER 
: I thank the member but he knows that is not a point of order. 
Peter Brown 
: Did the Minister hear the expert on  
Morning Report 
 this morning—the one I think to whom he referred—actually say that this flu has in a very minor way gone from person-to-person contact and does that make any difference to his answers this afternoon? 
Hon PETE HODGSON 
: No and no. 
Hon Tony Ryall 
: What else are his officials working on that he does not know about? 
Hon PETE HODGSON 
: My response to that is to say that this Government began planning for this epidemic more than a year ago. It has taken the Opposition a year to get hold of the fact that this flu is a serious serious potential threat to our economy and society. We are further advanced on this planning than almost any other nation although of course it must continue. 
Hon Tony Ryall 
: I raise a point of order Madam Speaker. I would be happy to offer the Minister a briefing if he would like to contact me at the end of question time. 
Madam SPEAKER 
: That is not a point of order as the member knows.