Stewart Barbara: Debate on Prime Minister’s StatementText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeStewart Barbara: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement[Sitting date: 12 February 2015. Volume:703;Page:1587. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]BARBARA STEWART (NZ First):First I will have to welcome all of my esteemed colleagues back for 2015. Congratulations Mr Assistant Speaker to you as well. In New Zealand First we are really looking forward to this year when the people of New Zealand are going to be put first. We are in this circadian rhythm that Maurice Williamson was talking about—raring to go raring to go. However when we were listening to the Prime Minister’s statement we were quite surprised to hear that there was not a mention of health. Where is the importance that is being given to health? The only mention that we heard was free health care for the under-13s. Well I will have to inform the House that that happens to have been a New Zealand First policy. We know that imitation is the most sincere form of flattery and particularly in this House. That happens to have been a New Zealand First policy that is going to be implemented so we welcome the Government looking through our other policies and actually putting those into practice as well.The policy that we are really hoping the Government is going to pick up on—and we actually know it will—is three free doctors’ visits for all SuperGold cardholders. Well that will really save the Government some money. We will pick up illnesses at a very early stage and before people go into hospital they will have been cured by their GP. We know on this side of the House that many SuperGold cardholders have great trouble going to the doctor and paying for the doctor. This would be one way of getting them there. We get many complaints about people going to hospital in an ambulance—although their going to hospital is a good thing—and when they are told to go at 1 o’clock or 2 o’clock in the morning they cannot get home. This is a big issue when it comes to senior citizens so that is a great initiative and we look forward to that initiative being implemented this year too. I think it is rather odd that the Prime Minister did not talk about the health of New Zealanders so we will be listening very carefully again when it comes to the Budget because on this side of the House we know it is important.We were very pleased to hear the Prime Minister talking about jobs and job creation. We know that is quite fantastic but the reality is that there are a lot of people out there who are having great difficulties even getting out of bed to find these jobs because of illness or disability and consequently they are living on the poverty line. Although we have the Prime Minister wanting us to believe that the health of all New Zealanders is rosy we know that it is really anything but. We need to focus in this area.We have many New Zealanders who have fronted up to the hospital to have their operations cancelled time and time again. They are on the waiting list they go in and they are sent home again. That is not helping them one scrap. We know it is happening; we are told of many instances of this. Why are so many Kiwis struggling with pain and discomfort? We know that the number of cancelled elective surgeries has reduced since 2008. It is absolutely disgraceful and it is not how it should be. We look at the loss of their earnings we look at their mental fatigue and it is something that needs addressing. We are keen on this side of the House particularly in New Zealand First to see some action in this particular area.Another issue that Kiwis have is cancer. We all wonder how on earth we can deal best with this terrible disease. The New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation has called for an increase in free mammograms for females until the age of 74. It is presently 69 and we would like to see it increased to 74. We know that the risk of breast cancer increases quite markedly as people age and we all want something done. Screening does save lives. Over in Australia they have screening until the age of 74 so why can we not have it here? But there is good news. We have been carefully following the bowel cancer screening programme that is currently being carried out in Waitematā. It is very successful and we had the Hon Jo Goodhew say:“ … results for the first two years of the programme show that most of the cancers were found at an early stage when they can often be cured”.So why is the Government waiting until 2016 before even thinking about implementing a national screening programme? How many more lives are going to be needlessly lost when bowel cancer can be cured if it is caught at an early stage? The trial says unequivocally that it works and we heard that at an annual review this week when we looked at the Waitematā District Health Board. It works in Australia it works up in Waitematā it works in the United Kingdom—why can it not work in the rest of New Zealand? I believe it can. Instead we are going to have to wait for more people to die before the Government is actually going to make this cancer a priority issue.Another cancer that is really sort of a challenge is skin cancer and melanoma. Overseas over in Australia although the skin cancer rate may be higher the survival rate is far higher from melanoma and skin cancer. We know that using sunbeds actually increases the risk of skin cancer by 41 percent. Fortunately we have now got some legislation to regulate this particular issue to have a look at and to put through the House through the Health Committee. We know that the voluntary guidelines are being dragged out and are not really being followed through by many of the tanning clinics and there is no wish to do anything else. Why have we not got the under-18s banned from actually using these facilities? This is not putting the lives of New Zealanders first.Another issue that we are increasingly concerned about is that of obesity. Unfortunately New Zealanders are getting bigger and bigger and their waistlines are expanding—this is not the most healthy development. It actually puts stress and pressure on the health system. I have got some figures here.The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Trevor Mallard): I regret that I do have to interrupt the member. She has 2 minutes to go. The debate is interrupted and is set down for resumption the next sitting day.Debate interrupted.