The Minister of Health today said he would be seeking further advice from the Ministry of Health and the Health Funding Authority about the best way of making progress with controlling cancer in New Zealand.

"A workshop of experts being held in Wellington will help advise health officials on the way forward.

"Over recent years a lot of effort has gone into specific programmes such as breast screening, cervical cancer screening and tobacco control to try to reduce the incidence of cancer.

"Deaths from cervical cancer have dropped by around six per cent a year since the introduction of the national screening programme in 1991.

"Now that these programmes are in place it is timely to look at the next step.

"The Government has an open mind on the best way forward and will be watching the outcomes and advice from the workshop closely.

"The Ministry of Health is supporting the workshop and is awaiting advice from these experts on options for the future," Mr Creech said.

ENDS

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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>>