Bond Ria; Borrows ChesterRIA BOND (NZ First): I am pleased to rise on behalf of New Zealand First to speak to the Vote Health call this afternoon. I am really pleased actually to speak on this health budget because like all of New Zealand and members on this side of the House we were looking forward actually to the Budget announced by the Minister of Finance as being the big plan to help fix the health crisis this country is in currently.The reason why I was looking forward to that was not only did I want to know about the big Budget plan but I wanted to know about how it would specifically tackle the mental health crisis that is growing in this country. I also wanted to know about the big plan that would address the chronic underfunding of our district health boards (DHBs) and I have to say the big plan for helping everyday New Zealanders to access quality and timely healthcare was actually what I was really quite looking forward to.But what did we learn on Budget day? We learnt that the National Government has run out of ideas. It was a wobbly Budget delivered by a wobbly finance Minister who would rather try to bribe the public and distract them with smoke and mirrors than really face the enormous challenges plaguing our health system head on. This Budget delivers nothing but cosmetic services in a cosmetic coverage. It is like lipstick on a pig.We have had Minister after Minister and backbencher after backbencher stand up in this House and tell us how generous this Budget is and how health was a big winner in this year's Budget. I beg to differ. On this side of the House we beg to differ.Some member got up and said that the centrepiece was actually the $2 billion Family Incomes Package and that it would raise the incomes of 1.3 million families by an average of $26 a week. The example given was a couple who had two children under 18 with one partner earning $55000 who would gain $41 a week plus any increase through their accommodation supplement. Again we looked at this and we thought that this was an absolute election bribe because this was funded by the cutting of key social services that the couple in the example used would have relied on the most over the last 9 years.They may well be getting a little bit more money in their hand but how much time and money have they had to waste on waiting lists if they can even get on one? How much more money could this family have made if wages were not left to atrophy under this Government? Does the earning partner used in that example work in manufacturing or in an exporting industry like many in Southland? Under this Government that sector is losing ground against GDP which is leading to job losses and stagnant wages.Another member got up and said how great it was for the health budget that it is growing yet again. He said that there was an extra $3.9 billion over 4 years taking the total health investment to a record $16.77 billion; that the Southern District Health Board would benefit from extra funding; that bowel-screening programmes would be rolled out again in the region in 2017-18; and that an extra $224 million over 4 years would be invested in mental health services including $124 million in new innovative approaches. Again we say that this is just electoral lip service. Health funding under the National Government has been cut by $1.7 billion—$1.7 billion—during its three terms. This Budget is not generous when it comes to health; it is just trying to restore what is owed and it is not doing a good job of that.This Budget does not relieve the pressures on nurses. It fails to increase operational funding to a level that would mean nurses are adequately resourced to keep up with current healthcare demand. Last week's health budget said that that budget increases. When the caregivers' settlement is taken out there is only a $500 million increase in health spending and that is $300 million short on what is needed to keep up with the status quo with the commitments that the Government has already made.I say that if this is what a winning Budget looks like and what that looks like to that National Government then those members are in for a rude awakening in September because what we really got here was small funding increases masquerading as big funding increases. A lot of people have likened this Budget to a classic election-year lolly scramble but I think a lot more fitting metaphor would be to say that National robbed the lolly shop through years of cuts to our essential services especially health and then gave the lollies back to us with a bow on top expecting a pat on the back from the New Zealand public.But if that just goes to show how out of touch and out of ideas this National Government is let us look at health. I will say this again: while in Government National has underspent in health by at least $1.7 billion. These cuts have led to a huge range of issues in our healthcare system over the last three terms. We are facing longer waiting lists for elective surgeries. People are being kicked off the waiting list.We have GP shortages and while we are talking about GP shortages let us look at a snapshot of what we have got right now. The general practice workforce in New Zealand is ageing with 57 percent of GPs aged 50 or over compared with 16 percent in 1998. The GP workforce is also shrinking in terms of the total GP hours worked per unit of population. The average age of GPs is 53 and 44 percent of GPs intend to retire in the next 10 years. It is getting harder and harder for GPs to meet the community's needs when funding is required to enable at least 60 more additional GP training places.Let us look at the nurses—the nurse shortages. We have actually heard from the New Zealand Nurses Organisation that nurses are drastically underfunded and it has actually sent an open letter calling for this Government—pleading for this Government—to support with proper funding enabling the nurses to actually go through and come out the other end being able to look after patients.The shocking state of our mental healthcare system is another issue. Overcapacity in hospitals hospital bed shortages deteriorating facilities—I could go on and on.So did this big election-year Budget address this underspending? No. According to the Ministry of Health's own figures district health boards needed $645 million to keep up with costs last year. They received only $400 million. Next year DHBs get only $439 million when they are clearly going to need at least $650 million. That means DHBs in this country are going to go over and be over $200 million short of what is really needed to meet demand.But sure health is the big winner in this Budget according to that Government. Let us talk about Southland Hospital the hospital that my family and friends use which operated more than 100 days in 2015-16 with at least 95 percent or higher occupancy level. This year it is well on its way to surpassing that. How can the Southern DHB be expected to survive with such a significant funding shortfall? DHBs need better funding so that New Zealanders do not suffer like they have in the last 9 years.These funding increases are just cosmetic. There is no clearer example of this health budget than the state of elective surgery. Elective surgery has a funding pool of $27 million. That was cut to $12 million last year. Now in this Budget the Government has increased that funding pool by just $6 million meaning that while it is a technical funding increase the reality is that there is still a funding shortfall of $9 million. Is the National Government so starved of good publicity that it would call an almost $10 million shortfall a funding increase?I have heard the National MPs stand up and say that the tax cuts for families will mean that people are better off and that up to an extra $1000 will make all the difference and we say yes sure that is true. But when we look at how this has worked out this Government gave up to an extra $1000 a year to members of our public for someone who may be forced several times to spend some time waiting on the waiting list trying to get elective surgery or who may actually use that money being forced to go to private hospitals in order to get their treatment.Yes we say the public might regard that as a tax cut but New Zealand has had a Budget freeze on the police since 2010. How many people have had slower call-out in emergencies because of understaffed police? So you could get up to an extra $1000 but we ask whether it was worth the risk to New Zealanders' safety to put it in the hands of this Government.And what do people in the sector think is right with this winning health budget? Not a lot either. Let us talk about mental health—let us talk about the elephant in the room. The biggest stain on this Government's health record is the crisis that has unfolded in mental health under its watch. The National MPs have been quick to talk up the $224 million on mental health spending in this Budget and it does sound like a pretty big number until you hear the fine print. The funding is over 4 years so it is actually only $56 million per year.The Government also announced it would ring-fence $100 million for mental health—again over 4 years so that is only $25 million per year. That is actually coming from money already allocated to DHBs so they must spend additional money on mental health even though DHBs are already underfunded by more than $200 million. Mental health was also given $100 million as part of the social investment budget to target new initiatives. Again it is only $25 million a year so that would boil down to community groups fighting over just $1 million per year to try to innovate and find new ways to tackle the mental health crisis. That is the Government's big election-year plan for mental health services and how to address the crisis—it is just pathetic.Let us look at the social impact that is going on within our communities. Let us look at the fact that our police force is now by default offering mental health care services. Let us look at the fact that phone calls coming in to the police station through mental health care services needing police support have skyrocketed. I want to point to the recent—Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: I am sorry but the member's speaking time has expired.