King Annette: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
King Annette: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Sitting date: 27 February 2013. Volume:687;Page:8243. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
7. 
Hon ANNETTE KING (Labour—Rongotai) 
 to the  
Minister of Health 
: What expectations has he set for District Health Boards and subsidiary entities for 2013/14? 
Hon TONY RYALL (Minister of Health) 
: 
 I would like to welcome the member back into her responsibilities. The expectations summed up in the letter of expectations to district health boards and subsidiary entities for the 2013-14 year are available on the Ministry of Health website. They have been there since 6 February. The headings in the letter are: “Better Public Services: Results for New Zealanders” “National Health Targets” “Care Closer To Home” “Health of Older People” “Regional and National Collaboration” and “Living within our means”. I can also advise that the Government will be investing more money in health this Budget and this contrasts with the ongoing reductions in health spending in many parts of the world. 
Hon Annette King 
: In light of that answer is the new way to provide his “Better sooner more convenient care” health service for charities to pay for the bandages and dressings for children with skin infections in Northland and South Auckland because the Government funding is not enough and for charities to pay for medicines where a family cannot afford his new $5 prescription charges? 
Hon TONY RYALL 
: The Government is making a very large investment in the rheumatic fever programme around the country and we welcome any organisation that wants to join with us in backing that. The member will remember that rheumatic fever was made a national health priority in 2001 and that Government did absolutely nothing in the subsequent 7 years—a priority in 2001 and absolutely nothing was done until this Government put $24 million in. [ 
Interruption 
] 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! Supplementary question Annette King. 
Hon Annette King 
: Well in light of that answer why do the Minister and the Prime Minister not tell the whole truth about his flagship rheumatic fever programme: that charities are helping to fund it in South Auckland because the district health board has not got enough money to be able to cover the 61 schools at higher risk of rheumatic fever? And can he tell the House whether all the funding has actually been allocated for the programme that he promised? 
Hon TONY RYALL 
: I am advised that the ministry and the Counties Manukau District Health Board intend to spend $11 million in the next 2 years on rheumatic fever and they appreciate the $95000 that the Middlemore Foundation is contributing to the programme. This is an important programme because rates of rheumatic fever were excessive and grew dramatically between 1999 and 2008—a shameful record of Third World disease neglected by the failed party opposite. 
Hon Annette King 
: It’s time he manned up and took some responsibility. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Supplementary question. [ 
Interruption 
] Order! The noise level now is getting quite excessive from both sides of the House. Would the member please ask her supplementary question. 
Hon Annette King 
: Why does he not— 
Hon Paula Bennett 
: This is the fresh new face of Labour—the fresh new face. 
Hon Annette King 
: Oh come on. There’s the old fishwife over there. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! Does the member want to ask her—[ 
Interruption 
] The Hon Paula Bennett unless you can stop interjecting across the House I am going to ask you to leave the Chamber. 
Hon Annette King 
: Why does he not change his expectations of “Better sooner more convenient care” to “Worse later and very inconvenient” in light of the latest Quality of Life Survey released yesterday showing 46 percent of those who wanted to go to a doctor last year did not because it was too expensive because general practitioner fees in some areas have doubled under his watch and because poor children have to rely on charity to bail out their health services? 
Hon TONY RYALL 
: No because we would have to adopt Labour Party policies if we wanted to do that. This Government is determined to improve services for New Zealand and the reason why we want to do that is that we are not prepared to accept that for the 6 years that that member was Minister of Health the number of operations performed for patients went down. The budget went up and the number of operations went down. We are not prepared to accept that. We are trying to provide better services for New Zealanders in much tighter funding circumstances.