4. Health Services—Funding LevelsHon ANNETTE KING (Deputy Leader—Labour) to the Minister of HealthHealth Services—Funding Levels4. Hon ANNETTE KING (Deputy Leader—Labour) to the Minister of Health: Does he stand by his statement I think we've got to be very careful before we look at tax cuts. We've got to make sure we are properly funding health and education"; if so has health been funded properly over the last two Budgets to allow him to do everything he has wanted as health Minister?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN (Minister of Health): Yes. Although health got an extra $2.2 billion over 4 years in Budget 2016 for new initiatives and to meet cost pressures and population growth there is always more to be done in health and every extra dollar is helpful. Of course my comments are focused on the future. I also stand by my comment that it is unbelievable that a previous Labour health Minister could be given an extra $3 billion but actually cut elective operations by 2000 per year and first specialist assessments by 7000.Hon Annette King: Why has it taken a leadership challenge and his personal ambition for him to see that under Bill English as Minister of Finance $1.7 billion is missing from the health budget and that health now needs to be—according to him—properly funded having caused untold misery to sick New Zealanders over the past 8 years?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: I fundamentally reject the premise of that question. Once again Mrs King is making up a whole lot of stuff including this $1.7 billion figure. She knows for a fact that the health budget has gone up every year under this Government from about $12 billion to $16 billion over our 8 years in Government and that is the fact of it.Hon Annette King: Why has he spent 2 years hiding the fact that health under Bill English Budgets has not been properly funded knowing that services have closed and been cut people have waited in more pain before getting care police are sent out to deal with very sick mental health patients and thousands cannot afford to go to a GP?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: There are about five things there to say no to. Once again Mrs King is making up stories about—Mr SPEAKER: Order! [Interruption] Order! I am going to allow the Minister to finish his answer but he cannot accuse another member of making stuff up and I refer to Speaker's ruling 46/1. The Minister can complete his answer.Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: So as I was saying there are about five noes in that question there. We put an extra $4 billion into the health system 6000 extra doctors thousands of extra first specialist assessments and a massive uplift in electives. The member cannot name a single service under this Government that actually is not delivering more than before. I will tell you what she would not want more scrutiny of her own record but I commend her for her bravery in asking questions in the House every week.Mr SPEAKER: In making comments to the Minister I used Speaker's ruling 46/1; it is actually 47/4 should any member want to check it.Hon Annette King: Does he now regret gloating about the Government's fiscal strategy and health back in January when he said "We've slowed the growth so the growth and health spending is down from 8 to 9 percent to around 2.5 percent." which from his comments over the past day shows that he does not think that health has been properly funded; or does he not know the meaning of the word "properly"?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: No. I think we have actually funded health extremely well but I am looking to the future.Hon Annette King: Is he prepared to fund a programme advising of the dangers of second-hand cigar smoke being blown at people in close quarters in corporate boxes?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: No but I think we could do with a programme on staying well past your used-by date Mrs King."