Flaws Common, And Commonwealth, Knowledge

The Commonwealth Fund's report `Mirror, Mirror on the Wall' is a salient reminder of the fundamental bureaucracy flaws that exist in our Labour-led health system, ACT New Zealand Health Spokesman Heather Roy said today.

"While the report found that New Zealand frontline medical staff provide an excellent service to patients, it also ranked us last in categories which are the direct responsibility of Health Minister Annette King, the Health Ministry and management," Mrs Roy said.

"The news that Kiwi health professionals are among the world's best comes as no surprise. Our medical staff are highly sought after overseas - with Australia, Canada and the UK recruiting heavily here in New Zealand.

"The fact is, however, that the Minister and her Labour colleagues are the only people in New Zealand - and now, it seems, the Commonwealth - who do not realise the calibre of our health practitioners. It is little wonder that our medical staff are flocking overseas in search of better pay and working conditions.

"Foreign authorities value our health professionals more than our own Government does, and no one believes Ms King's claim that the next report will show better results - she has had four years to get things right, yet her health system continues to fail patients and dedicated staff," Mrs Roy said.

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Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>