Verrall AyeshaHon Dr AYESHA VERRALL (Labour): Here's four things about this Budget's impact on the health system that all New Zealanders need to know. The first is that the Government has been shamed into keeping its cancer medicine promise. I want to shout-out to all the patient advocates who held their feet to the fire for three long weeks post-Budget who demanded that they meet their commitments and who pointed out the cruel and manipulative thing that has been done: making a promise to people with terminal illness during the election campaign and not following through.But has it kept its promise? Actually no. It is not purchasing the 13 named medicines. It's giving Pharmac medicine to work down the options for investment list. Whose promise was that? That was Labour's promise.In fact when I went up and down the country with Dr Reti pointing out the problems with his commitment pointing out that he had left out haematology patients pointing out that it would undermine the independence of Pharmac pointing out that it would reduce the ability to strike a good deal what did he do? He ignored it. What did he do when he came into Government? He ignored it. He persisted with his idea that he could do things differently. What was he saying at the Health Committee up until a few days ago? That he was going to do this some other way that he was still contemplating an alternative. Well every single week he did that meant people didn't get their medicines. It was foolish and it was unnecessary. Now it's left the finance Minister in the position of rewriting Budget '25 three weeks after she's delivered Budget '24. This is a coalition of chaos.The second thing you need to know is that funding for the health system has come down in real terms. Each New Zealander is getting 4 percent less spent on them in their healthcare than they were in the last Budget. That is because the Government did not take new advice on the true cost pressures on the health system when they came into Government. Te Whatu Ora told us at annual review that the true cost pressures have increased from those estimated before the election but the Government didn't fund it. The Minister of Health couldn't give a straight answer to our select committee on that but the Council of Trade Unions have done the work: a 4 percent cut for every New Zealander.The third thing every New Zealand needs to know about the health system in this Budget: as a result of the previous funding cut there is a hiring freeze in public hospitals there is a hiring freeze for back-office staff. That means that doctors and nurses are having to find their own notes schedule their own clinics do all the admin that takes them away from caring for people. We also hear reports of clinical vacancies front-line roles being cut vacancies not being filled critical shortages at Palmerston North oncology department not being filled. Remember the promise that this Government was going to put money towards the front line? Well it seems like that is not the case in the health system. There's a surgical hospital on the North Shore of Auckland that they cannot staff because of this hiring freeze in public hospitals. When they do staff it they're going to move staff from one ward in an existing hospital to another. There'll be no increase in capacity.Half the funding for medical students they promised—no nursing and midwifery bonding scheme. By the way if you're a graduate nurse the Government can't give a clear answer on what your chance of getting a job in a New Zealand hospital is. It's a disgrace. This Government campaigned on their being a workforce crisis and now the workforce is going backwards.The fourth thing you need to know is that it's going to cost you more to go to the doctor—that's right. Dr Reti made lots of hints about funding primary care more the ACT Party campaigned on a 13 percent increase for primary care and what have they delivered?—4 percent. And practices are allowed to in compensation put their prices up. So that's costs on to the people at home—you're going to pay more to go to the doctor because of this Government's underfunding of the health system.Now look I get it—running the health system is hard. We face so many challenges: with the workforce with rising demand. It is a very tough job. In that situation why wouldn't you use the best science and expert advice to run the system better? Why wouldn't you keep world-changing smoke-free legislation so that you'd have fewer people coming in for smoking-related illnesses? Why wouldn't you keep free prescriptions? Why wouldn't you support nutritious health lunches?This Budget is taking New Zealand and its health system backwards.