Turia Tariana: New Zealand Public Health and Disability (Enhancement of Competition) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Turia Tariana: New Zealand Public Health and Disability (Enhancement of Competition) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:629;Page:1828] 
TARIANA TURIA (Co-Leader—Maori Party) 
: 
 Tangata whenua believe that in matters of hauora—our health and well-being—it is not enough simply to be absent of disease. Health is about creating the optimum conditions for our full potential to be realised. In that view we are firmly committed to a focus on the determinants of health and well-being including poverty housing income discrimination and the environment. 
We will support the referral of the New Zealand Public Health and Disability (Enhancement of Competition) Amendment Bill through to the Health Committee. We will do so because we believe that the New Zealand public has a right to tell us whether it believes the current Commerce Act exemption is essential for Pharmac’s ability to achieve positive health outcomes. The key issue for the Maori Party is whether it will make a difference to the health of our people and whether it will ensure that people are able to get access to the best medication if they need it. 
Pharmac should be subject to the same scrutiny as others. Pharmac has argued that if it loses its Commerce Act exemption it will be forced to spend money on defending litigation rather than on securing health outcomes. I certainly have some sympathy for that view because I can recall that when Pharmac was first set up a number of cases were brought against it which cost a considerable sum of money. The complicating factor with the Commerce Act cases is that it is not only legal fees that are required but also fees for economic expertise—often from international sources. The reality is that one has to question the real value to the health of the nation if our resources end up being tied up in litigation. The Maori Party absolutely appreciates the perspective of Pharmac that the goal of economic efficiency is not the only goal in terms of health and well-being. It would seem sensible that Pharmac’s actions in undertaking its drug-purchasing activities should be subject to the same scrutiny as the actions of others in the market place. 
The health and well-being of our whanau are very important. Those issues affect us deeply personally and collectively. I want to raise some questions that keep me awake at night. Why is the cancer death rate for Maori females 89.6 percent higher than the non-Maori female rate? Why is the ischaemic heart disease mortality rate for Maori females 119.2 percent higher than the non-Maori female rate? And why is the Maori female age-standardised rate for cerebrovascular disease 52.8 percent higher than the non-Maori female rate? Those statistics are stunning in their severity and as a nation we must care enough to do something about them—not because we want to close the gaps but because we believe that health is not a privilege but a right. 
We hope that in supporting the referral of this bill through to the select committee the submissions that we receive will keep us focused on the bigger picture and on how to achieve health gain through improving people’s access to pharmaceuticals and to better health-care. The pharmaceuticals we are talking about are the best and those that will improve the quality of life. Will this legislation lead to a buyer’s market or a seller’s market and most of all how will it improve the health and well-being of the people? As I said earlier the Maori Party is prepared to support the referral of the bill to the select committee so that the debate can be held.