Stewart Barbara: Estimates Debate — In Committee 
Stewart Barbara: Estimates Debate — In Committee 
[Volume:618;Page:14354] 
BARBARA STEWART (NZ First) 
: 
 On behalf of New Zealand First I rise to speak in the estimates debate. It was pleasing to see there is an increase in the health budget of 3.5 percent. The increase can be considered to be an attempt to regain our First World health system. The Minister of Health in her Budget debate speech stated that our rate of intervention lagged well behind that of the international average of countries like Australia Canada and Britain that we often compare ourselves with and we hope that this Budget increase will make a difference to those statistics. On a positive note we are pleased too that the Government is taking some constructive steps in addressing meningococcal disease. While that is a little late in coming we support its efforts on that front. They are definitely needed. Many parents particularly in south Auckland have welcomed the initiative and we know that there are many other parents right throughout New Zealand who are anxiously waiting for the treatment regime to come to their area. 
Although the Government has made some improvements with the cancer control strategy we in New Zealand First still find it very disturbing that we require our cancer patients to travel to Australia for treatment. If we want to have a First World health service we need to be able to treat those patients at home. It was very disturbing to read the article titled “The big C” in this week’s edition of the  
Listener 
 which stated: “When it comes to surviving cancer you’re better off living in Australia or just about any developed country than here.” 
That is quite disturbing. The article lists many shortcomings that we are all aware of: issues like waiting times for radiotherapy and surgery workforce shortages flagging research and lack of funding for drugs that are available in Australia. We all know that delays in treatment here cost lives. We need really good coordinated care allowing patients to be investigated and diagnosed quickly and to have the proper access to treatment right here in New Zealand. We presently have piecemeal services and fragmented information about those patients. It is to be hoped that the implementation plan for the New Zealand cancer control strategy will be completed on time at the end of July and that the strategy and the increase in the health budget may hopefully address many of the shortages that were listed in the article. 
One of the areas too that is of prime concern to New Zealand First is that of dental care for adolescents. We know that area is in a state of crisis with very few dentists offering a free service for high school children because it is not worth their while to provide it. We believe that urgent action is required because lack of oral health-care results in other problems that are far more expensive to treat. It is rapidly getting to a situation in which free dental care for adolescents is difficult to access which is leading to a situation in which those who can afford to pay for the dental service do so and those who cannot pay go without. So it is really time for the Minister to become proactive in that area. I know she has said she has some good ideas that she will work through so that adolescents receive dental care in a timely manner. 
Free health-care for under-6s must really mean free health-care not health care with additional fees. We are now reaping the results of several years of successive Governments not providing a subsidy to doctors that is adequate to ensure that all under-6s get free doctors’ visits. We are seeing rampant glue ear and asthma rates in low socio-economic areas and that is all preventable with the right care. We hope that some of the additional money put aside in the Budget will actually be used for that purpose. 
One other area of concern for New Zealand First is the need for nurses to be paid adequately in order to ensure that we stem the flow of qualified nurses and doctors to Australia and elsewhere. We know that nurses are the basis of our health-care system and they are now leaving New Zealand in greater numbers than ever before.