King Annette: Oral Questions — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeKing Annette: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 29 July 2015. Volume:707;Page:5423. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]6.Hon ANNETTE KING (Deputy Leader—Labour) to the Minister of Health: Has core Crown health expenditure kept up with health demographics and inflation growth since 2009/10?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN (Minister of Health): Core Crown health expenditure has risen by $3.3 billion to a record $15.6 billion under this Government. In tight economic times this increase covers all demographics and most but not all inflationary pressures. Under this Government it is all about delivering results that matter for patients rather than pouring money in with little to show for it as happened between 1999 and 2008.Hon Annette King: Is he saying that Treasury’s own figures from the Fiscal Strategy Model which shows in Budget 2010 a real cut of $210 million; Budget 2013 which records a further cut of $120 million; Budget 2014 which records an additional cut of $210 million; and Budget 2015 which shows a total cut of $485 million are all wrong and he is right?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: No. What I am saying is Mrs King is again deliberately mis—ah yes—misrepresenting the true situation. Labour is all about—Hon Trevor Mallard: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. It has long been ruled by Speakers that members are not allowed to accuse in this House members of deliberately misleading the House as the member just did.Mr SPEAKER: Order! The Minister then quickly corrected himself and said “deliberately misrepresenting” the House. I think that in this case it is effectively saying that the Minister is disputing the figures that were given. I do not see anything wrong with that at all.Hon Annette King: Well in light of that answer when will he stop denying Treasury’s own numbers on health demographics and inflation which show that this Government has cut the health budget in real terms in four of its six Budgets and has created a cumulative shortfall of $1.7 billion and that in this year real health spending will be almost half a billion dollars less than it was in 2009-10—figures that come from Infometrics not from Labour or from me?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: The first thing is that Labour has a long history of commissioning reports that back up its own political arguments. The other thing is that we are putting in more money than ever—so $1.7 billion of new money over 4 years in the Budget. But more important than that we are focused on results and we are delivering the services that New Zealanders need. So there are more immunisations more doctors more operations and more appointments. Frankly it is a better health service than the Labour Government presided over.Hon Annette King: What services have been cut or reduced as a result of the continual underfunding in four out of six Budgets since 2009?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: The issue is that you have constantly got to reprioritise funding in health to actually make sure it is delivering results. So my priority is changing models of care getting more services out into the community and keeping New Zealanders well for longer. I do not think that that Minister had any priority when she was in charge of health. [Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! Stand and ask the supplementary question.Hon Annette King: Who is right: the Minister of Health who has cut health spending in four out of the last six Budgets and says that there are no problems or the over 1000 health workers and patients who have written to me in just the past day telling us their stories of what his cuts mean to them—missing out on the health care that they need?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: The problem with this member is that she spends half her time looking for leaked documents and the other half making up numbers and statements. The fact is that we are delivering—Hon Annette King: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I take exception to the Minister saying that I make up numbers.Mr SPEAKER: Order! I am not about to intervene on this occasion.Simon O’Connor: What reports has he received about Crown health expenditure?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: I have seen reports that under this Government Crown health expenditure has delivered 44000 more elective operations 50000 more appointments 5000 more doctors and nurses and faster cancer services such that no one now needs to go to Australia. I have seen another report of a doubling of the health budget delivering 2000 fewer operations 6000 fewer appointments and jet-loads of patients flying to Australia for cancer treatment and that happened when Mrs King was the Minister.