Prebble Richard: Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Bill — In Committee 
Prebble Richard: Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:611;Page:8148] 
Hon RICHARD PREBBLE (Leader—ACT NZ) 
: 
 I had better declare an interest immediately. I am a member of a professional body—not a health body but I am a member of a professional body. [ 
Interruption 
] No no I am a lawyer so I have an interest in looking at professional bodies and how it should be done. I am interested to see that we are setting up a body that Mr Cunliffe is supporting. That member is not a professional but he clearly wants the registration of doctors done by lay people and—worse than that—done by people selected by a Minister of Health who was a dental technician— 
Hon Annette King 
: No. 
Hon RICHARD PREBBLE 
: A dental nurse then who I think has a heavy chip on her shoulder about professional dentists and doctors. 
The Minister said—and I think it is an outrageous public view for the Minister of Health to have—that she believes that there is a tendency for health practitioners to look after their own members and not take the public interest enough into account. She talks as if there were a public interest in having doctors registered who are not properly qualified. I have never met doctors who were not in favour of having the highest quality standards. Whenever I am being treated—or a member of my family or a member of the New Zealand public—I want us treated not by a quack but by someone who is professionally competent. 
Who is most likely to hold professional standards? They are the professionals themselves. The Minister may not know that but the professionals themselves will set high standards and those lay people will try to lower them. Lay people will raise politically correct notions about there not being enough women in this area or not enough ethnic minorities and they will want more women and ethnic minorities registered as health professionals. 
 But it goes further than that. When one reads the clause properly one sees that the Minister— 
Steve Chadwick 
: Have you read the bill? 
Hon RICHARD PREBBLE 
: I have read the bill and I am particularly concerned about clause 116. Subclause (2A) states that before the Minister appoints a member to an authority he or she must publish a notice that: “(i) invites organisations and individuals …” to make nominations. Presumably that could be the chairman of the Labour Party who could make a nomination in respect of who could do registrations. Subclause (4) states that the Minister may “… appoint a person who has not been elected as a member of the authority …” so we could have someone who had not been elected by his or her fellow professionals who had no standing at all but was a good friend of the Prime Minister of Annette King or just a good party supporter. We will now see that sort of politics in registration. 
I say to the Committee that I do not understand why we are putting lay people on those bodies at all. It appears to me to be a matter of political correctness. I would like the Minister to give us examples to support her public statements which I regard as a great insult to the professional bodies of New Zealand and to the doctors and surgeons of this country. I ask the Minister to say where they have been putting their members’ interests ahead of the public interest. She made that statement and she is putting this bill in front of this Parliament. Where is the evidence for it? 
Steve Chadwick 
: And we’re proud of it. 
Hon RICHARD PREBBLE 
: She is proud of the fact that her Government is denigrating doctors and health professionals and that Labour Party lackeys will be put on to those committees which will lower professional standards. That is the comment made by the Government member Steve Chadwick. She wants her name put across so that every doctor in New Zealand knows that it is her view that doctors and surgeons have been putting their own interests ahead of those of the public of New Zealand. That is an insulting statement from a Government that makes political correctness its ideology and is in no way concerned with the real interests of the public. 
I say that the Committee should reject this section and I say to the Minister that it is an insult to every doctor and surgeon in New Zealand. I cannot see how anyone can possibly believe that this bill will result in better health standards in this country.