Soper Lesley: Financial Review Debate — In Committee 
Soper Lesley: Financial Review Debate — In Committee 
[Volume:646;Page:15031] 
LESLEY SOPER (Labour) 
: 
 It is like being pelted with popcorn to listen to members from the National benches speak in what is meant to be the debate on the financial review of the Ministry of Health. It was quite refreshing to hear Barbara Stewart of New Zealand First actually refer to the Ministry of Health financial review. One would have thought from listening to the National members that they had no idea at all that there was any need to mention quality health services whatsoever. 
Insubstantial stuff has been coming from members on the other side of the Chamber and that is absolutely typical of them. There was no concentration on quality health services and no compliments were given to our excellent health services and ministry staff. There were no compliments given to our clinicians—the doctors—or to the nurses support staff deliverers of Healthy Eating - Healthy Action programmes or deliverers of the enormously successful “Get Checked” Diabetes Aotearoa programme which now covers 80000 people. That is quite typical of a party that not very long ago was promising to remove the cap on doctors’ fees. All we got from National was insubstantial popcorn negativity. National members droned on and on. The two speakers between them could not even agree on the amount of extra funding that the Labour Government has put into health. 
Hon Mark Burton 
: They’ve lost count. 
LESLEY SOPER 
: That is right. They have lost count so they made the figure up—as they usually do. Let us agree that there has been an extra $5 billion put into health by this Government. 
Let us also get some facts on the table about the one thing that National members seem to be trying to concentrate on. They just do not seem to have any new material so they keep going on about the old story of a bloated bureaucracy. Well let us look at the basic facts. In 1999 which we all sadly remember was the last year of a failed National Government management and administration staff made up 19 percent of the health workforce. 
Hon Mark Burton 
: Nineteen percent? 
LESLEY SOPER 
: Nineteen percent. And as of 31 December 2007—and there has not been a big change through to March 2008—what percentage do management and administration staff make up of the health workforce today? Well let us look at that—it is 19 percent of the health workforce. Well well! 
Another little fact that we should get on the table is the increased number of doctors and nurses. In 1999 under the little-lamented National Government doctors and nurses made up 52 percent of the health workforce but today they make up 56 percent of the health workforce. What does that actually mean in terms of numbers? Let us look at one number quoted this year by the Medical Council. Its data shows that the number of active doctors in New Zealand under the Labour-led Government has increased from 8615 to 9547 in the last year. National members will see that in both absolute and relative terms we are doing quite well on the workforce figures. There are some other little factors. In November 2007 an extra 40 young doctors graduated from medical school which is an increased investment under the Labour-led Government. Forty extra people will also start to train as medical students this year. Well well! How very interesting that is. 
Along with the thousands of extra doctors and nurses who have been employed in our system what do we have under the Labour-led Government? The National Party speakers ask where the money that we have invested has gone. Let us look at things like the fact that over a million New Zealanders now get cheaper trips to the doctor and cheaper prescriptions under the Labour-led Government. We have had the roll-out of primary health organisations which has delivered for many people a 50 percent reduction in the cost of a doctor’s visit and also means there is no charge for doctors’ visits for thousands and thousands of children aged under 6. This Government had a commitment to deliver that policy with our coalition partners as an outcome. 
That is the sort of success that this Government has delivered and which the National Party knows nothing about. No one told National there would be days like this with a successful Labour Government actually delivering successful outcomes in health. But National does not want to admit that Labour has delivered those outcomes. 
Report noted.