Candidates vow to fix public health system
Cost of living, crime, traffic among other issues discussed
Three Bay of Plenty election candidates have vowed to fix the public health system, with one saying health workers had gone from being “on their knees” during the Covid-19 pandemic to now being “on the floor”.
About 120 people attended a Meet the Candidates event in Pa¯pa¯moa on Monday night, organised by the Pa¯pa¯moa Residents and Ratepayers Association.
National’s Bay of Plenty candidate Tom Rutherford, Labour’s candidate Pare Taikato, NZ First’s Kirsten Murfitt and Act’s candidate for Tauranga, Christine Young, attended. Young stood in for Bay of Plenty candidate Cameron Luxton. Each gave a 10-minute speech followed by questions from the audience.
Murfitt said she was “concerned about the state of our hospitals” after her husband went to Tauranga Hospital
“a couple of weeks ago”.
“He had to wait in the waiting room for 45 minutes before he was taken through and was put on a stretcher in the hallway.”
The doctor “quickly rushed” him to a ward. “Later that evening, after they tried to send him home, he had a code 777 [emergency call] and if he had not been in hospital, he would not be here today. So I know the issues of our failing hospitals.”
In response to an audience question about what candidates would do to fix the health system, Murfitt said NZ First would fund St John up to 95 per cent and would look at the “waste” in the health system.
Rutherford said National would “scrap the Ma¯ori Health Authority” which created an “unnecessary layer of bureaucracy”. “We’ll train more nurses and doctors. We have committed to opening a third medical school in the Waikato so we can have more people on the frontline.”
Young told the audience her
friends who worked in the health system said they were “on their knees” during Covid-19. “Now, they are literally on the floor.” Act would increase the capitation rate for GPs by 13 per cent “so we can go to a GP instead of waiting and it doesn’t get so acute that it ends up in hospital”.
She said Act vowed to cut back “red tape and bureaucracy” so “the frontline staff can get on with it”.
Taikato said Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand and the Ma¯ori Health Authority were set up to improve the health system by becoming more “efficient” with the delivery of services. “I can’t say anything more about why it’s taking so long to get through that transition.”
Other issues discussed included
the cost of living, crime, traffic, cogovernance and the unelected Tauranga City Council commissioners.
Young said she was “horrified” at the “wasteful spending” going on.
“The current Government spends $1 billion more per week than in 2017 when they first came into government.” She said $1b was equivalent to the salaries of 15,151 nurses or 16,700 police officers.
“In spite of that increased public spending, we’re feeling no better off.”
Rutherford said violent crime had “skyrocketed,” with a ram raid happening every 15 hours. “It’s time to give the resources to the police that they need to ensure that we can be kept safe in our community.”
Rutherford said National was
“committed” to delivering SH29 upgrades over the Kaima¯¯ı Range.
On the cost of living, Taikato said there was a “global recession” and Labour had introduced measures to “ease the pressures on people’s back pocket”. This included the winter energy payments and removing the $5 prescription charge.
She said SH2 — the Takitimu Northern Link — and SH29 were being addressed under a Labour Government.
Murfitt said New Zealand First would tackle the cost of living by growing exports and adding value before sending them off-shore.
“We need to look after our people first. We need to give our Kiwi battlers a hand-up, not a hand-out.”