Latest news with #HealthyFutures)Act2022
The Spinoff
3 days ago
- Health
- The Spinoff
Star Wars jokes and surgeries, not strategies: Inside scrutiny week, part two
The vibes were tense as ministers and officials got a grilling in the final two days of scrutiny week, where government spending is put under the microscope. Health The energy was testy, to say the least, when health minister Simeon Brown faced the health committee at Bowen House on Wednesday morning. More accurately, Brown faced off with former health minister and current Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall, who caused a bit of a delay as things kicked off by attempting to move that the session be extended by 30 minutes (she was voted down on that), then that only the opposition could ask questions (again, she was voted down). Verrall and Brown argued over deficits, medicines and bed shortages, and when they failed to see eye-to-eye, Brown would challenge her to 'look in the mirror'. When Green MP Hūhana Lyndon asked why the minister had recently decided to repeal the health charter and sector principles in the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act 2022, many of which are underpinned by obligations to the Treaty of Waitangi, Brown said the frameworks didn't have enough focus on patient outcomes. 'If you look at those health sector principles, one of them is requiring the health system to deliver against climate change obligations,' Brown said. 'We have a ministry for the environment for that. I want surgeries, not strategies.' Oranga Tamariki That tense atmosphere persisted all day. In select committee room 5, the social services and community committee gathered just before midday to hear from children's minister Karen Chhour on Oranga Tamariki spending, but committee member Willow-Jean Prime ( Labour's children's spokesperson) was more keen to talk about the second preliminary youth boot camp evaluation released on Friday, and why the minister hadn't bothered to send out a press release to let anyone know it existed. 'I don't usually make it my personal job to pick up the phone and ring you,' Chhour told her. It wasn't an easy session for Chhour. Prime and Labour colleague Helen White grilled and heckled her over the boot camp pilot, the unrevealed reoffending rates and the fact that six of the nine rangatahi who went through the pilot were now in a youth justice facility. When committee chair Joseph Mooney attempted to turn the heat down by blocking Prime's questions and asking her to be silent, Prime bit back at him, too. The constant hubbub was enough to make NZ First's Tanya Unkovich snap 'show some respect!' But to her credit, Chhour was candid when she spoke about the grief experienced by these rangatahi following a death in the cohort, and how it 'derailed some of these young people mentally'. Pilot lead Iain Chapman told the committee that reoffending rates were 'not a sign of failure or success of a programme … it's about trying something different for these young people' – but he couldn't convince the opposition that the price tag and outcomes had been worth it. Whānau Ora The hearing into Whānau Ora's spending was a funny one, considering two of the Māori affairs committee members (Labour's Willie Jackson and Te Pāti Māori's Takutai Tarsh Kemp) once had leadership roles in the Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency (WOCA). Though WOCA wasn't the only agency to lose its Whānau Ora contract earlier this year, it was naturally at the forefront of many of the opposition's questions. Jackson, putting it 'all on the table', was reassured by both Māori development minister Tama Potaka and Te Puni Kōkiri chief executive Dave Samuels that neither cabinet nor any minister had a say in the Whānau Ora tender, nor was WOCA's contract rescinded because its CEO, John Tamihere, is also the president of Te Pāti Māori. After telling Labour's Peeni Henare the Whānau Ora tender was 'brown-clad', in response to concerns mainstream providers could one day be favoured over Māori ones, Potaka only had 'Oh! Ka pai!' to say to Kemp. She used the last few minutes of the hearing to lament the 'waste of time' the changeover in contracts had been for providers – 'we already had a commissioning agency that did that [navigator reporting and regulated outcomes], and there's evidence for days to prove that, so your responses don't make sense'. 'I don't think there was a question,' Samuels responded. Media Broadcasting minister Paul Goldsmith had to assure the social services and community committee on Wednesday afternoon that it was 'certainly not my expectation' that RNZ Concerts would be on the chopping block in light of recent cuts to RNZ's funding. At the end of the day, 'it's ultimately up to the [RNZ] board'. With that life-or-death matter out of the way, Goldsmith was free to confirm that he would be making progress on a domestic screen production rebate, had no commitment to regulating streaming platforms and, no, Winston Peters was not responsible for the aforementioned RNZ cuts. But he did have an inspirational message to the media industry: 'Get out there and keep on hustling.' There was a slight uproar at the end from Labour's Reuben Davidson and Rachel Brooking, both of whom couldn't believe committee chair Mooney called the hearing off with one minute to spare – precious grilling time, gone to waste. 'Let's just say we got shut down before our time,' Brooking complained. 'Like the media,' Davidson remarked. Environment Thursday morning in Bowen House was slightly awkward. Environment minister Penny Simmonds, RMA minister Chris Bishop and biosecurity minister Andrew Hoggard were gathered to talk about Vote Environment, and it didn't take very long for one of the ministers to put their foot in it. When Act MP Simon Court asked his party colleague Hoggard what should be done about Te Mana o Te Wai – a concept underpinning the National Policy Statement on Freshwater Management that recognises and upholds the health and mauri of water – the minister said the government needed to 'balance things out' so that the 'life force of the water' didn't come ahead of economic growth (as promised in the Act-National coalition agreement). 'There's a whole range of spiritual concepts in [Te Mana o Te Wai] – what is the life force? As a Star Wars fan, when someone says 'the life force' I'm thinking, 'what's the midi-chlorian count?'' 'That was a joke,' Hoggard explained, to not a single laugh from the room.
Scoop
4 days ago
- Health
- Scoop
New Board Members Appointed To The Health Quality & Safety Commission
Minister of Health Health Minister Simeon Brown has today announced three new board appointments to the Health Quality & Safety Commission. The Health Quality & Safety Commission (HQSC) is a Crown entity responsible for improving quality and safety across the health and disability systems within New Zealand. 'I am very pleased to welcome Dr Peter Watson, Taima Campbell, and Clare Perry to the HQSC board,' Mr Brown says. Dr Peter Watson has been appointed as a member for a three-year term commencing 18 June 2025. Taima Campbell and Clare Perry have both been appointed as members for two-year terms commencing 18 June 2025. 'Dr Watson is a specialist youth health physician, a clinical leader with expertise in medical administration and paediatrics and currently contracted as Regional Strategic Clinical Advisor to Health New Zealand. His governance roles include serving as independent chair of the Clinical Governance Committee for Forte Health Ltd, and as a trustee for both Cancer Research Trust New Zealand and the Aotearoa Clinical Trials Trust. He is also a member of the Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal.' 'Ms Campbell is a registered nurse with over 35 years' experience, specialising in system quality and patient safety within the health care sector. As Director of Hauraki Health Consulting Ltd, she has led numerous initiatives focused on clinical governance, quality improvement, and risk management.' 'Ms Perry is an experienced public servant with a strong background in health, regulatory services, and leadership. She has held senior roles, including Deputy Director-General at the Ministry of Health and other roles in regulatory services, health system improvement and innovation, and integrated service design, and has played a key role in implementing significant health initiatives'. 'I would like to thank outgoing members Dr Andrew Connolly for his services to the Board since 2018, and Dr Jennifer Parr for her services to the Board since 2019.' 'These members provided expertise and advice during their time on the Board. I thank them for their significant contribution and look forward to working with the new members as they begin their terms,' Mr Brown says. For more information on the HQSC, see: Note: · HQSC was established under the New Zealand Public Health & Disability Amendment Act 2010 and now functions under the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act 2022. · HQSC works with clinicians, consumers, health and disability sector providers – private and public – and consumers to improve health and disability support services. · Quality and safety improvements will mean fewer people are harmed, more lives are saved, and financial savings are realised within the sector. · Key HQSC areas of work include adverse events, building leadership and capability, improved service delivery, infection prevention and control, medication safety, mental health and addiction, system safety, trauma, consumer engagement, primary care and mortality review.
Scoop
14-06-2025
- Health
- Scoop
Putting Patients First: Government To Refocus Health System On Outcomes
Press Release – New Zealand Government This Government is focused on delivery getting the basics right, fixing what the previous Government broke, and ensuring New Zealanders have access to timely, quality healthcare, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. Minister of Health The Government will introduce legislation to ensure the health system is more accountable, more efficient, and focused on delivering better outcomes for patients, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. 'After years of bureaucracy and confusion, the health system lost its focus. The previous government scrapped health targets, centralised decision-making with no accountability, while every single health target went backwards meaning patients waiting longer for the care they need,' Mr Brown says. 'This Government is focused on delivery – getting the basics right, fixing what the previous Government broke, and ensuring New Zealanders have access to timely, quality healthcare.' Cabinet has approved a suite of amendments to the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act 2022, designed to strengthen the performance of Health New Zealand and ensure a clearer, more accountable system. 'These changes are about improving health outcomes by making sure the system is focused on delivery, not bogged down in doing the same thing twice. That means better care for patients through a more connected, transparent, and effective health system,' Mr Brown says. 'The previous Government's reforms created a bloated system where no one was truly accountable for delivery. We're changing that,' Mr Brown says. 'We're putting health targets into law so every part of the system is focused on delivering faster care, shorter wait times, higher immunisation rates, and real results.' The current legislation is too focused on bureaucracy rather than patients, with multiple charters and plans creating confusion and fragmentation. These reforms repeal the health sector principles and health charter – cutting needless bureaucracy – while requiring each population strategy to give effect to the Government's health targets. Mr Brown says infrastructure delivery was one of the most serious failings under the previous Government. 'Too many builds were delayed, blown out, or never even started. We're addressing this by establishing a dedicated infrastructure committee and embedding infrastructure as a core function of Health New Zealand. This means the board can focus on lifting system performance where it matters most: for patients.' The Minister is also confirming changes to strengthen the Hauora Māori Advisory Committee (HMAC) and clarify the role of iwi-Māori Partnership Boards (IMPBs). 'Local IMPBs will continue to engage with their communities but will now provide advice directly to HMAC. That advice will then support decisions made by the Minister and the Health NZ board. 'These changes are about one thing – putting patients back at the centre. We're rebuilding a health system that delivers real outcomes, not just organisational charts.' The Amendment Bill will be introduced to Parliament in the coming weeks. Notes: Key changes include: Establishing a new statutory purpose to ensure all patients have access to timely, quality healthcare. Legislated health targets to lock in accountability and ensure New Zealand's health system is measured and managed. Requiring all health strategies give effect to these targets. Stronger governance and financial oversight within Health New Zealand. Making the delivery of health infrastructure a core legislated function of Health New Zealand. Establishing a permanent infrastructure committee to carry out functions related delivery of physical health infrastructure by Health New Zealand. The Director-General of Health (or delegate) able to attend Health New Zealand board meetings to support monitoring. Ensuring simplified board appointment rules that select the best person for the job, based on skills and delivery. Clarifying public service integrity rules apply to the Health New Zealand board, CEO, and staff so patients know they're held to the highest standards. Removing audit requirements for the NZ Health Plan, aligning with other Crown entity requirements. Repealing the Health Charter and Sector Principles to reduce red tape and make things clearer for everyone. Enhancing the role of the Hauora Māori Advisory Committee (HMAC) to provide advice to the Minister and the board of Health New Zealand, that will be taken into account at the national level. Clarifying and streamlining iwi-Māori Partnership Boards (IMPBs). IMPBs focus will shift away from local service design and delivery, to engaging with communities on local perspectives and Māori health outcomes. This legislation supports the Government's wider Health Delivery Plan – including reinstated health targets, a record $16.68 billion in funding, faster access to primary care, improved infrastructure delivery, and the recruitment and training of more frontline doctors and nurses.
Scoop
14-06-2025
- Health
- Scoop
Putting Patients First: Government To Refocus Health System On Outcomes
Minister of Health The Government will introduce legislation to ensure the health system is more accountable, more efficient, and focused on delivering better outcomes for patients, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. 'After years of bureaucracy and confusion, the health system lost its focus. The previous government scrapped health targets, centralised decision-making with no accountability, while every single health target went backwards meaning patients waiting longer for the care they need,' Mr Brown says. 'This Government is focused on delivery – getting the basics right, fixing what the previous Government broke, and ensuring New Zealanders have access to timely, quality healthcare.' Cabinet has approved a suite of amendments to the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act 2022, designed to strengthen the performance of Health New Zealand and ensure a clearer, more accountable system. 'These changes are about improving health outcomes by making sure the system is focused on delivery, not bogged down in doing the same thing twice. That means better care for patients through a more connected, transparent, and effective health system,' Mr Brown says. 'The previous Government's reforms created a bloated system where no one was truly accountable for delivery. We're changing that,' Mr Brown says. 'We're putting health targets into law so every part of the system is focused on delivering faster care, shorter wait times, higher immunisation rates, and real results.' The current legislation is too focused on bureaucracy rather than patients, with multiple charters and plans creating confusion and fragmentation. These reforms repeal the health sector principles and health charter – cutting needless bureaucracy – while requiring each population strategy to give effect to the Government's health targets. Mr Brown says infrastructure delivery was one of the most serious failings under the previous Government. 'Too many builds were delayed, blown out, or never even started. We're addressing this by establishing a dedicated infrastructure committee and embedding infrastructure as a core function of Health New Zealand. This means the board can focus on lifting system performance where it matters most: for patients.' The Minister is also confirming changes to strengthen the Hauora Māori Advisory Committee (HMAC) and clarify the role of iwi-Māori Partnership Boards (IMPBs). 'Local IMPBs will continue to engage with their communities but will now provide advice directly to HMAC. That advice will then support decisions made by the Minister and the Health NZ board. 'These changes are about one thing – putting patients back at the centre. We're rebuilding a health system that delivers real outcomes, not just organisational charts.' The Amendment Bill will be introduced to Parliament in the coming weeks. Notes: Key changes include: Establishing a new statutory purpose to ensure all patients have access to timely, quality healthcare. Legislated health targets to lock in accountability and ensure New Zealand's health system is measured and managed. Requiring all health strategies give effect to these targets. Stronger governance and financial oversight within Health New Zealand. Making the delivery of health infrastructure a core legislated function of Health New Zealand. Establishing a permanent infrastructure committee to carry out functions related delivery of physical health infrastructure by Health New Zealand. The Director-General of Health (or delegate) able to attend Health New Zealand board meetings to support monitoring. Ensuring simplified board appointment rules that select the best person for the job, based on skills and delivery. Clarifying public service integrity rules apply to the Health New Zealand board, CEO, and staff so patients know they're held to the highest standards. Removing audit requirements for the NZ Health Plan, aligning with other Crown entity requirements. Repealing the Health Charter and Sector Principles to reduce red tape and make things clearer for everyone. Enhancing the role of the Hauora Māori Advisory Committee (HMAC) to provide advice to the Minister and the board of Health New Zealand, that will be taken into account at the national level. Clarifying and streamlining iwi-Māori Partnership Boards (IMPBs). IMPBs focus will shift away from local service design and delivery, to engaging with communities on local perspectives and Māori health outcomes. This legislation supports the Government's wider Health Delivery Plan – including reinstated health targets, a record $16.68 billion in funding, faster access to primary care, improved infrastructure delivery, and the recruitment and training of more frontline doctors and nurses.
The Spinoff
08-06-2025
- Health
- The Spinoff
Tribunal hears what was lost when Te Aka Whai Ora was taken
In a major Waitangi Tribunal hearing, Māori health leaders laid bare the consequences of the government's decision to disestablish Te Aka Whai Ora. For many, it wasn't just policy – it was personal. At the end of last month, the Waitangi Tribunal wrapped up its hearing regarding the disestablishment of Te Aka Whai Ora, or the Māori Health Authority. An urgent inquiry as part of the wider Health Services and Outcomes Kaupapa Inquiry, the hearings took place over the space of a week and saw dozens of expert witnesses provide their insights into the state of Māori health in Aotearoa. Established through the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act 2022 under the previous Labour government, Te Aka Whai Ora was an independent government agency charged with managing Māori health policies, services and outcomes. It was pitched as a pivotal step towards addressing the long-standing inequities in hauora Māori, grounded in a Tiriti partnership model. Its disestablishment on June 30, 2024, came less than two years into its operation. 'Te Aka Whai Ora was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to not only change Māori health outcomes, but to also change the health system,' said indigenous rights advocate and business leader Chris Tooley in his submission. But its beginnings were far from simple. Witnesses explained how the authority was required to be built from the ground up: no existing systems, no legacy staff or infrastructure, and no meaningful transfer of Crown power. In contrast to Te Whatu Ora, which inherited the resources and staff of the former DHBs, Te Aka Whai Ora was expected to function as an equal partner with a fraction of the funding, infrastructure or political support. Its disestablishment was a political decision, witnesses argued, driven not by evidence or performance, but by ideology. 'The fallacy of neutrality that our public health system treats everyone equally and fairly – it's not true,' said public health expert Elana Curtis. 'If you belong to white British colonial culture, then the health system will tend to produce better outcomes for you than someone who doesn't align with those values or that worldview.' The tribunal itself was not unfamiliar with the issue. A year earlier, it was forced to abandon its urgent inquiry into the government's planned disestablishment of Te Aka Whai Ora when the coalition government introduced repeal legislation under urgency, stripping the tribunal of jurisdiction. That legislation went through without consultation with Māori, and without input from the authority itself. Later, the tribunal would find that the process was a breach of te Tiriti. In the latest round of hearings, witnesses were clear: the authority was beginning to show real promise. A 'new whare' grounded in tikanga and data, commissioning services by Māori, for Māori, at scale. 'We must bring back Te Aka Whai Ora – otherwise we will be continuing to swim in the crap of colonialism,' said submitter Maia Honetana. Witnesses also argued the disestablishment has weakened existing structures. Iwi Māori Partnership Boards (IMPBs), destined to work in tandem with Te Aka Whai Ora, have been left adrift, they said. Some remain in name only, others have shifted focus to service provision, and several are now competing for the same limited funding. At least one board has said that its current funding is set to expire in June 2026, raising concerns about the long-term viability of the model. The effects are also being felt in clinical spaces. In renal care, the Māori renal health taskforce has been disbanded, and national forums where inequities were previously discussed have gone quiet. 'Equities seemed to be at the forefront of discussions, and that's now gone,' said Kidney Health New Zealand board member John Kearns. The Crown's position is that the current settings – including IMPBs, the Hauora Advisory Committee and residual provisions in the Pae Ora Act – uphold its Tiriti responsibilities. But several experts rejected that claim, describing the reforms as cosmetic without genuine devolution of power. 'Until the Crown devolves power and resources to these bodies, they are a toothless tiger who give an illusion that the Crown is honouring te Tiriti,' said claimant representative Maia Te Hira. Rawiri McKree Jansen, formerly chief medical officer at Te Aka Whai Ora, put it more bluntly: 'We aren't getting anywhere with this approach.' Throughout the week, witnesses called for a return to Māori-led design – not symbolic oversight, but meaningful authority over strategy, funding and service delivery. Many cited the importance of retaining evidence-based equity tools, including the use of ethnicity as a population-level health marker. Without these, several argued, the system will continue to fail Māori by default, not design. 'The fact that we are dying so prematurely, the fact that we have so much morbidity – when you start to do something like Te Aka Whai Ora and then take it away after 10 months, it's not OK,' said Elana Curtis. 'None of this is just or fair.' Crown engagement during the hearings was limited. Its only witness, deputy director-general of Māori health John Whaanga, had his written brief withdrawn just days before he was due to appear. Whaanga did appear, however, citing active cabinet deliberations about sector reform, while Crown counsel said officials were not authorised to discuss future reforms. No alternative model was presented. Claimants argued that the absence of a replacement plan was itself a breach of te Tiriti. In their closing submissions, they noted that the Crown had offered no justification for dismantling Te Aka Whai Ora, and no path forward since. 'This isn't a system failing by accident,' said Māori health leader Lady Tureiti Moxon, one of the lead claimants. 'It is a conscious decision to return to Crown control and institutional racism.' The tribunal's findings are expected later this year. What remains is a growing record of what Te Aka Whai Ora was, what it represented, and what was lost when it was taken away.
