Barclay Todd: New Zealand Public Health and Disability (Southern DHB) Elections Bill — In CommitteeText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeBarclay Todd: New Zealand Public Health and Disability (Southern DHB) Elections Bill — In Committee[Sitting date: 10 May 2016. Volume:713;Page:10939. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]TODD BARCLAY (National—Clutha-Southland): It is a privilege to speak on the New Zealand Public Health and Disability (Southern DHB) Elections Bill in the Committee of the whole House stage. Before I start I just want to acknowledge the Minister of Health the Hon Dr Jonathan Coleman; the Health Committee chair Simon O’Connor; and the commissioners Kathy Grant Richard Thomson and Graham Crombie.I do not think for one minute that we can underestimate the level of public service that these people have undertaken in their role as high commissioners and deputy commissioners and the high level of public scrutiny they are under. I think what they have done is actually a service to Southland and to Otago. The task they have taken on board is basically to turn round a systemically dysfunctional $852 million organisation supporting a couple of hundred thousand people across a land mass the size of Belgium as Mr Clark has pointed out. It is no easy task and I want to acknowledge the support they give to us as local members of Parliament—and I suspect they provide the same level of support to Opposition MPs—and to the members of the community who have basically vested a lot of support and hope in the ability of these three people to turn round an organisation we all rely so much on.At the heart of this bill it extends the term of office of those commissioners. I think by appointing those people to undertake this task we would be doing them and our region an incredible disservice if after about only a year or 18 months in the rolewe were to say: “Right that’s it. Time’s up. You now have to come to us with your proposals.” This is an incredibly complex area. I have participated in a number of public meetings where the commissioners the chief executive and members of the district health board themselves have fronted up in full force to listen to the concerns of members of the public the concerns of professionals working in the health sector in the district and the concerns of other stakeholders and key interest groups in order to really get a handle on what the issues are and to start forming some views around how we can improve the health care service in our area.I just want to reiterate that I think this is clearly a long-term piece of work with a long-term goal of financial stability and sustainability. We have got an organisation that had a $42 million deficit which has now been revised down this financial year to $35 million and that has been agreed to with the Ministry of Health. I do not think that we can take those figures lightly for a sector whose overall deficit is at the level of only about $60 million. If two-thirds of that value is taken up by one district health board it really demonstrates the need to reform and to focus on how we can improve the health care service in this area.The Opposition has said that the health sector and particularly the Southern District Health Board is underfunded. I would have to disagree with that. Over the last 6 years the Southern District Health Board’s funding has increased by $136 million. We have got more staff. We have got 66 more doctors and 195 more nurses compared with 2008. This is not a case of having an underfunded district health board; it is a case of systemic financial mismanagement. I think one of the things I want to acknowledge the commissioners and their team for is their level of public transparency and willingness to front up to the public on these issues.This is a phase of recalibration and stocktaking. There is not much to tell at this point in time. These guys are going around listening to people and trying to find what the issues are and where things need to change for the better. Health care needs in our district have changed. We have got an increased ageing population we have got increased ethnic diversity and we have got an increase in young families in certain parts of our electorates. We have got parts of my electorate where there is a highly ageing population—Gore Winton Lawrence Balclutha—and then we have got other parts of the electorate such as Queenstown which has got an influx of young families and ethnically diverse people coming into the area. The district health board has to grapple with all those challenges and I want to acknowledge again the support that the commissioners are putting into this area in this space.For the Opposition to say there is a lack of transparency and a lack of accountability to the public—I have to disagree. Although the commissioners might be legally accountable to the Minister of Health they are ethically morally and practically accountable to the public. Kathy Richard and Graham and their families all live and work in the Southern District Health Board catchment area. Just because their nine-to-five job as a commissioner means they focus and report to the Minister it does not mean to say when they go out to get their groceries and when they go out to dinner or go out for a coffee with a friend they are not accountable to members of the public all the time every single day. I think the settings are right with the legal accountability to be placed with the Government. It shows from my perspective and from my constituents’ perspective that the Government is taking a strong interest in getting some better outcomes for the Southern District Health Board.I want to acknowledge the interest that the Minister is taking in this area. Since becoming the Minister he has been down to the area probably four or five times and he has met with most of our hospitals down there which shows a genuine desire to put things right and to recalibrate the health system for the better for Otago and Southland. This is not an inherent problem with the elected members—to touch on a point that Mr Hague has talked about. I do not think for one minute that we are suggesting there is an inherent issue with elected representatives on the district health boards or on any other public organisations for that matter. I think it is a case of a systemic problem with a complex institution.I do not claim for one minute to be an expert in the health area or the health governance area. I know that Mr Hague has had experience working in that area himself. But what I can say is the views I have had from my constituents are that they are pleased with the approach the Government has taken by putting in commissioners they are pleased with the level of public engagement they are hungry for that engagement and they are appreciative of the ongoing engagement they have with the commissioners and their team.I think as a Parliament instead of criticising the work of the commissioners and underplaying the level of complexity of the role we have asked them to undertake we could actually get behind them and support them—support an extension of their duration in that role and get right behind them to ensure we get the best results for the people of Otago and Southland. Thank you.