Hutchison Paul: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Hutchison Paul: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Sitting date: 28 July 2009. Volume:656;Page:5149. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
5.  
Dr PAUL HUTCHISON (National—Hunua) 
 to the  
Associate Minister of Health 
: What reports has he received regarding new services for eating disorders in the northern region? 
Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN (Associate Minister of Health) 
: 
 Earlier this year the Government announced the provision of an extra $26 million over 4 years to improve services for eating disorders. I am pleased to announce now that I have received a report laying out how most of this new money will be spent in order to get proper in-patient and residential eating disorder services up and running in the top half of the North Island. This Government is determined to turn round the woefully inadequate eating disorder services we inherited in this region and we are doing it. 
Dr Paul Hutchison 
: What are the details of the Government’s new plans to lift eating disorder services in the northern region? 
Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN 
: The plan proposes that by the end of this year additional workforce will be employed by the Auckland District Health Board enabling Starship Children’s Hospital to provide five dedicated beds for children under the age of 15 who need in-patient hospital care for their eating disorders. By the middle of next year the plan provides for a new Auckland-based residential service with up to nine beds for adolescents and adults with eating disorders. The plan is a good example of district health boards working together with services being available to patients in district health boards ranging from Northland to southern district health boards including Lakes Taranaki and Tairawhiti. 
Hon Ruth Dyson 
: Why did the Minister do nothing to protect the health target of improving mental health services a target that has now been scrapped; and why did he do nothing to stop the cut in this year’s Budget to the amount of money going into the roll-out of the mental health blueprint? 
Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN 
: With regard to the first of those points on the issue of health targets I say that when we talked to people in the area of mental health care we found that that specific target was a bureaucratic target that did not improve patient care. So they were quite glad for it to go. 
Dr Paul Hutchison 
: What further details if any can the Minister advise of with regard to this positive plan to assist people with eating disorders in the northern region? 
Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN 
: This plan outlines well-coordinated health services for people with eating disorders regardless of the type of treatment they may need. The addition of a residential treatment facility will provide a home-like environment for patients where they can spend time with their families. I should caution here that until these new services are fully operational patients will continue to be sent to Australia for treatment when it is appropriate and agreed with the patients. 
Hon Ruth Dyson 
: How is the Associate Minister’s commitment to eating disorders backed up by his decision to have pies and candyfloss in and apples out of schools? 
Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN 
: I am very surprised that the member wants to politicise this argument. The fact is that when it comes to eating disorders Labour had 9 years but it could not get its act together; we have had 9 months and we have done it. 
Hon Ruth Dyson 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. The Minister did not even attempt to address the question. He made an interesting political point but he is required to address the question. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I cannot support the member on this occasion because I think her own colleagues showed the political nature of the question by immediately barracking at the— 
Hon Annette King 
: At the answer. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: No—the member had barely finished asking her question when there was a barrage of noise from her own colleagues. I am afraid that if the question was meant to be serious then her colleagues should not have interjected en masse in the way they did. 
Hon Ruth Dyson 
: So if there’s barracking they don’t have to address the question? 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I do not need assistance on this. To me it was very plain that the member’s own colleagues did not take the question seriously because there was a barrage of noise. I nearly intervened at that time to make the point that if members wanted to hear the answer they should not carry on like that. The Minister answered the question in the way that he saw appropriate and under the circumstances I felt it was appropriate.