Heatley Phil: Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Bill — In Committee 
Heatley Phil: Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:611;Page:8074] 
PHIL HEATLEY (NZ National—Whangarei) 
: 
 I along with various colleagues and in particular Dr Lynda Scott and young Heather Roy also challenge the Minister of Health and ask her why competence is not in—[ 
Interruption 
] David Benson-Pope might wear a bright green shirt into this Chamber; I tell the Committee that that is the brightest thing about David Benson-Pope. If he could stand and take a call we would all be the better for it. It would get it out of his system. I ask the Minister whether she will stand and explain to the Committee why competence is not one of the definitions listed in this part. Heather Roy raised this point first and she should take all the credit but she raised it well over 2 hours ago. Since then the Minister has had a good feed and a rest. I want to see her rise from the chair—I am happy if someone helps her—to take a call and say why competence is not listed as one of the definitions in the bill. I challenge the Minister and lay that matter to rest. I am sure she will meet my challenge. 
I would like to focus now on clause 8 “Health practitioners must not practise outside scope of practice”. This is of concern to members on this side of the Chamber. It is quite a worry for us. I will inform members on the other side who also take an interest in this bill. This bill introduces the untried and undefined concept of scopes of practice. No one really knows what it means least of all the ministry. Goodness knows it has tried. But the ministry does not know what “scope of practice” means. It has done very little work on it. But on reading the bill and I wish the Minister and members on the other side of the Chamber would also read it clause 8 comes into effect only 1 year after these debates conclude and this bill receives the royal assent. Very little work has been done by the ministry on what the Minister terms “scope of practice”. 
We understand that that is there to govern what medical practitioners can and cannot do as if the bureaucrats know better than the profession. Scopes of practice will govern what medical practitioners can and cannot do. As I alluded to the Ministry of Health has done very little work on scopes of practice. Examples of what they might look like are unavailable to members of Parliament—not only to members of Parliament on this side of the Chamber who work so hard but also to Government members of Parliament who are supposed to be inside the tent. The details are unavailable and that is of concern to us. 
I would be interested to hear from the Minister of Health and to ask her whether she can tell us whether she believes that scopes of practice will be confirmed 1 year after the day that this bill receives the royal assent. I would appreciate it if she would answer that question for me. 
I also would like to focus members’ attention on clause 9 which I believe also comes in 1 year after this bill receives the royal assent. This clause is about certain activities that are restricted to particular health practitioners. We are concerned that by Order in Council following a recommendation from this Minister or any Minister of Health following her this bill will allow the Minister to have control over the membership of the Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal. This could erode public confidence in the process. That is one area where the Minister has control but not only that she also has control over clause 9. She can restrict activities by Order in Council. Clause 9 states: “The Governor-General may from time to time by Order in Council made on the recommendation of the Minister—(a) declare an activity that constitutes or forms part of a health service to be a restricted activity;’’. 
She can control by Order in Council what a health service can and cannot do. She can also control through other means who sits on the Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal. Those are just two areas where the Minister has control over the health system under this bill.