13 April 2006

Brash is not fooling anyone on Plunketline

Any New Zealander who supports the work of Plunket should feel very lucky that Don Brash is not Prime Minister today, Health Minister Pete Hodgson said.

Last week the Ministry of Health announced that the government's Well Child telephone advice service would be operated by a new provider. Plunket will still be funded for delivery of the face-to-face services that it is best known for.

"Don Brash – the great proponent of slash and burn politics – has decided to grandstand in support of Plunketline," Pete Hodgson said.

"While we've all got used to a National Party that likes to ignore its own policy, Brash's latest move has taken them to new lows.

"If he were Prime Minister today, we would be talking about much more than Plunket losing a contract. We would have been preparing for John Key's first budget, which would have gutted services like Plunket's face-to-face support for Kiwi families.

"Dr Brash isn't fooling anyone and he should stop insulting the public's intelligence by pretending to support social service agencies like Plunket.

"The Labour-led government will invest $34 million in Plunket services this year. That's money that Brash would have diverted to Americanising the health system and passing tax breaks around to his wealthy friends."

ENDS

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