Clark rejects ‘gag’ as he announces $160m for Pharmac

Health Minister David Clark rejected claims he and other Government ministers had been “gagged”, as he fronted yesterday to announce a $160 million boost to Pharmac health spending.

An email from the Prime Minister’s office, obtained by the Herald, directed ministers’ press secretaries to issue only “brief written statements” in response to all media queries after Friday’s huge release of official Covid-19 documents.

“Do not put minister up for any interviews on this,” the email said. “There’s no real need to defend because the public have confidence in what has been achieved and what the Govt is doing. Instead we can dismiss.”

Clark yesterday rejected an assertion he had been gagged — or that the memo was a sign of arrogance, as several political commentators had written.

He did not believe the Government was arrogant.

“I am here, happy to answer questions that journalists might have. This is the advice we have received. We have looked at that advice and then made decisions.”

Clark rejected that ministers were “gagged” after the dump of hundreds of documents. He said the Government had been “very transparent” about its decision-making.

Cabinet will decide today if the country is going into alert level 2.

He said the contact tracing app was still in development and work was still being done.

After controversies about his own movements during the initial lockdown, Clark confirmed he would seek reelection this year. His community Labour board had asked him to stand again in Dunedin North.

Clark announced the Government would bolster Pharmac’s budget by an extra $160m to ensure that it, and the country’s district health boards, had access to more medicines and vaccines.

Despite few specifics on where the extra money would be spent, Clark said if a Covid19 vaccine became available, the Government would ensure Pharmac had the money to get it. A vaccine was still likely to be 12 months away. The new funding is split across the next four years, with $10m being paid out next financial year, and the remaining $150m over the other three.

Clark said Thursday’s Budget would have a “significant” focus on recovery and rebuilding. But securing medicine supply was also “critical”, more now than ever.

The extra money for Pharmac was important, given the global pressure on supply chains.

“This [funding] will secure our medicine supply, while allowing scope for Pharmac to continue to work on expanding the range of funded treatments where possible.”

Pharmac chief executive Sarah Fitt welcomed the funding news, but said Covid19’s fiscal impacts were not yet known.

Yesterday’s announcement is on top of a $60m boost to Pharmac in September last year, and a recent $35m oneoff top-up to help respond to the Covid-19 outbreak.

The new funding means Pharmac’s medicine budget is $1.045 billion.