Media Statement
For immediate release
Thursday, 1 September 2005

Turner: Labour picks up UF’s one-stop family centres - name and all!

Labour has not only picked up United Future’s policy of one-stop family centres, it’s taken the name as well, United Future’s deputy leader, Judy Turner, said today.

“But we’re quite delighted to have another of our commonsense policies picked up by Labour - same name and all,” Mrs Turner said.

“However, if they were really serious about helping families, they would have also picked up our idea of giving them cheaper doctor visits - such as our $20 for parents, $10 for schoolchildren and under-6s free.

“It’s also hard to understand a health policy that makes no mention of Pharmac, given that that organisation looms large in the health needs of so many New Zealanders,” she said. “There needs to be a review of Pharmac and a national medicines policy.”

Mrs Turner said she was also disappointed to see that the Government was continuing to ignore the scandalous state of the school vision and hearing testing programme that picks up only 10 percent of potential vision problems.

“The Government is continuing with its ‘see no evil’ policy here; unfortunately some kids are seeing very little at all as a result.”

Labour’s approach to elective surgery also remains too narrowly targeted, Mrs Turner said.

“United Future would set up a contestable fund to fully utilise both private and public capacity.”

ENDS

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