5. Health Services—Nurses' Collective Agreement NegotiationsHon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE (National) to the Minister of HealthHealth Services—Nurses' Collective Agreement Negotiations5. Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE (National) to the Minister of Health: Does he stand by his statements after the revised DHB Multi-Employer Collective Agreement offer was strongly rejected by the New Zealand Nurses Organisation members yesterday that We have gone as far as we can in terms of extra Government money" and "I hope cool heads will prevail and industrial action can be avoided"?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK (Minister of Health): Yes. Hon Michael Woodhouse: Does he agree with the Deputy Prime Minister that "It's no good fighting with a megaphone and negotiating through the media." and if so why did he do just that yesterday by stating through the media that there was nothing more to offer? Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: As the member knows these negotiations are between the district health boards (DHBs) and the New Zealand Nurses Organisation. The Minister of Health is not party to the negotiations. I am however encouraged that both sides are still committed to trying to avoid industrial action and are talking about urgent mediation and facilitation. What I would note though is that the Government has already put an extra quarter of a billion dollars into the package to double the initial package offered to nurses but sadly we can't turn around nine years of neglect in one pay round. Hon Michael Woodhouse: Does he accept that a material cause of the situation the Government faces is down to the massively inflated wage expectations raised by him and his Government that—despite his involvement in November and the Prime Minister's in February—were not met by the latest offer? Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: No. The demand from nurses for better pay and conditions was not created in the last eight months. It was created over the last nine years of underfunding and neglect under that Government. Anahila Kanongata'a-Suisuiki: Tēnā koe e Te Mana Whakawā. What is the Minister's response to nurses' concerns that DHBs have failed to properly implement safe staffing measures? Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: The Government shares those concerns and that's why we're committed to funding an extra 500 nurses and the proper implementation of safe staffing measures. That is something that the previous Government spectacularly failed to do despite having nine years to do so. Hon Michael Woodhouse: In light of his answer to my previous supplementary is he disagreeing with the Deputy Prime Minister who stated this morning "perhaps the expectations … we've given them are too high."? Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: Expectations as I said have not been created in the last eight months. Those expectations were created over the last nine years of underfunding and neglect by that former Government. Rt Hon Winston Peters: Would the Minister be surprised to learn that at the end of that comment this morning was the added statement that we can't fix up all these problems in just one Budget?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: I wouldn't be surprised to learn that. That is wise indeed. We cannot fix nine years of underfunding in one pay round.Hon Michael Woodhouse: On how many occasions between November 2008 and October 2017 did nurses take strike action?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: I don't have responsibility for that period of Government but I do know of course that the nurses became incredibly frustrated with the fact that the health system was underfunded that they were increasingly stretched and that frustration has now come to the surface."