Dyson Ruth: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Dyson Ruth: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:657;Page:6028] 
6.  
Hon RUTH DYSON (Labour—Port Hills) 
 to the  
Minister of Health 
: Does he still stand by his policy to deliver better sooner and more convenient health care? 
Hon TONY RYALL (Minister of Health) 
: 
 Despite the fact that this Government inherited $160 million worth of unfunded services to fill and that $150 million was quietly stripped from Vote Health just before the election yes I do stand by that policy. 
Hon Ruth Dyson 
: How can the people of New Zealand trust anything the Minister says when he initially and categorically stated in the House that he had no involvement in the review of the health sector by Government insider Murray Horn and then later that same afternoon he corrected that answer and tabled the four drafts of the same report he had commented on? 
Hon TONY RYALL 
: I think members of the public can take it quite clearly that I have had ongoing and appropriate discussions with the group over the 6 months as any responsible Minister would. 
Hon Ruth Dyson 
: How can the people of New Zealand trust anything the Minister says when he initially declared that he had no involvement at all in the review of the health sector by Government insider Murray Horn and then he had to further correct his faulty memory because he had had dinner with the Horn review group to discuss the report? 
Hon TONY RYALL 
: The member’s claims that she makes in her question would not stand up to any scrutiny. The fact is that I had quite responsible ongoing discussions with the group over a 6-month period. 
Dr Paul Hutchison 
: Can the Minister tell the House who was on the ministerial review group that delivered the comprehensive report on improving the performance and quality of the public health service? 
Hon TONY RYALL 
: The ministerial review group included some of the leading clinicians and managers in the New Zealand public health sector. The Director-General of Health Stephen McKernan; Southland District Health Board Chief Medical Officer Dr Pim Allen; general practitioner and former New Zealand Medical Association president Dr Tom Marshall; former medical officer of health in Auckland and elected member of the Auckland District Health Board Dr Virginia Hope; Hutt Valley District Health Board chief executive Mr Chai Chuah; former public health nurse and executive Sally Webb; and Hauora Taranaki Primary Health Organisation chief executive Hayden Wano joined Dr Horn on that group. 
Hon Ruth Dyson 
: How can the people of New Zealand trust anything the Minister says when after forgetting all those things about the Horn report he has now asked for an additional 20 working days under the Official Information Act to compile all the input he had into this so-called independent review? 
Hon TONY RYALL 
: The public of New Zealand would understand that that member has a record of misrepresenting facts and information. She stood up in the House and showed a table that indicated cuts to services and then she found out that it was actually extra money that was going into services. She is the member who stood up in the House and said that people are waiting longer but if she had used the up-to-date information it would have showed that people were waiting for shorter periods of time. People cannot believe that member. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I ask members to forgive me but I cannot hear what on earth is being called. 
Hon Pete Hodgson 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I have wanted to raise a point of order about the Minister of Health on this matter on a number of occasions and now will do so. My point of order is whether it is orderly to respond to a questioner by doubting the veracity of the question and the questioner generally. [ 
Interruption 
] 
Mr SPEAKER 
: A point of order is being heard. 
Hon Pete Hodgson 
: In this particular case the question was whether a report into which the Minister had claimed he had no input could be believed when he took an extra 20 working days to tell us what that input was. That was the question; it was clearly political. But the response from the Minister—it has happened in the past and I am sure it will happen in the future—has been to say that he does not know whether he can trust that member’s word and he then goes on to deliver a small homily on that. Sooner or later I think that will become disorderly. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I appreciate the point the honourable member has raised and were the question exactly what the member had claimed the question to be then I might have treated the matter differently. But if the member reflects on the question asked by the Hon Ruth Dyson he will see that it was a very political question about how the public can trust anything this Minister says. Under that kind of provocation in a question I cannot help the questioner if the Minister launches back with some information that may question whether people can trust the questioner. The point raised by the honourable member certainly might under normal circumstances have some merit but I think he chose the wrong question under which to raise it. 
Te Ururoa Flavell 
: Tena koe Mr Speaker. Kia ora tatou. What efforts have been undertaken to involve Maori health providers in considering changes to the health system and what has been their reaction? 
Hon TONY RYALL 
: I attended a meeting in Taupo on Friday afternoon with well over 200 Maori health providers and social service providers there. It was a meeting with the Hon Tariana Turia and we talked about the involvement that Maori can have in taking the next steps forward in improving primary health care services in New Zealand. There were well over 200 providers present. I think there is a lot of interest in developing Whanau Ora which is the new and improved way that we can provide better services for individuals and families in Maori communities.