Ministry Of The Blatantly Obvious

Monday 5 Apr 2004

Heather Roy - Press Releases - Health

ACT New Zealand Health Spokesman Heather Roy today wondered why the Health Ministry spent more of its time investigating and stating the obvious, than actually trying to address the health issues facing New Zealanders today.

"Hot on the heels of the Ministry's report telling us that not eating enough fruit and veges is the top killer of New Zealanders, comes today's article that there are serious patient and financial risks identified by the country's 21 District Health Boards," Mrs Roy said.

"I don't know about Health Minister Annette King, but I learnt about the healthy food pyramid when I was a child. The clear message then was to base your diet on fruit and vegetables. For the Ministry to come out with this `revelation' in 2004 is a staggering waste of resources.

"Now, a Ministry document compiling DHB risk reports has `revealed' what we all know: insufficient funds to cover health needs and community expectations, growing waiting lists, increasing demand on acute services, and gaps between Ministry and DHB expectations.

"Since the election I have been saying that keeping patients on waiting lists, as a means of keeping the budget in check, is not cost-effective. It is frequently cheaper to treat people in a timely manner.

"The Ministry is wasting taxpayers' money to state the obvious, while patients languish on waiting lists. If Labour really wants to consider the obvious, it should be looking to the private sector, which is able to provide quality treatment cost-effectively," Mrs Roy said.

ENDS

© Scoop Media

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>>