May 2021 - Bay of Plenty Business News

4 BAY OF PLENTY BUSINESS NEWS May 2021
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From the editor
We are delighted to feature additional comment in this issue on the
subject of the special commissioners newly appointed by central
government to replace the former Tauranga City Council.
At the moment, the commissioners
are wrestling
with coming up with a
Long Term Plan, which will
almost inevitably see rates rise
in the city.
It remains to be seen how
this will be greeted by the population.
But it seems to have
been welcomed by a large percentage
of the business community,
who feel Tauranga has
failed to deliver on its promise
as one of the country’s largest-growing
cities.
And who have welcomed
the commissioners stated
transparency in dealing with
the task ahead of them. However,
there is some skepticism
in the community that the commissioners
will complete their
mandate in time for the next
election cycle as they have
been proclaiming.
Meanwhile, one of
the most staggering
changes seen in New
Zealand has been unveiled by
the Labour Government with
its recent decision to totally
revamp the old system of District
Health Boards.
Minister of Health Andrew
Little recently announced the
sweeping changes, stating that
the 20 district health boards
will be replaced by a single
national agency called Health
New Zealand.
In addition, a Māori Health
Authority will be established,
and the government is promising
better access to care no
matter where you live.
The shakeup, which went
beyond the Government’s
original recommendations,
represents a fundamental
change to the way New Zealanders
receive health care.
Opinions are mixed as to
how well all this will work
out in practice. Former West
Coast DHB chairperson Dr
Gregor Coster told Morning
Report he didn’t have any
concerns about the changes,
noting only his concerns that
we need to see the funding for
healthcare addressed.
“We need to see the shortage
of doctors, nurses, midwives,
health psychologists, mental
health workers and other critical
workers addressed and
above all we need to improve
access to healthcare for Māori,
Pacific and others with health
disparities,” he said.
However, he did not feel
the so-called “postcode lottery”
would end, though he felt
there could be an improvement
in the way people get to access
services.
Māori health researcher at
the University of Auckland,
Dr Jacquie Kidd, told Morning
Report there were some risks
in the plans.
“If we go down the track
of having a Māori Health
Authority that is established
in the same western model as
for example the new national
health organisation, then it’s
kind of doomed to fail to start
with, because we need Māori
processes.”
Bowel Cancer NZ patient
advocate Sarah Derrett said it
was critical the rollout of the
We need to see the shortage of doctors,
nurses, midwives, health psychologists,
mental health workers and other critical
workers addressed and above all we need
to improve access to healthcare for Ma _ ori,
Pacific and others with health disparities.”
– Dr Gregor Coster
bowel screening programme
went ahead despite the restructure.
There were four DHB
regions that needed to enter
the screening programme by
the end of this year, and that
programme needed to stay on
track, she said.
Association of Salaried
Medical Specialists (ASMS)
former executive director
Ian Powell told Morning
Report patients were likely
to be big losers in newly
announced health reforms.
“The first thing that stands
out to me is there is a lack of
empirical evidence to actually
David Porter
justify the decision to abolish
[DHBs]. The argument about
postcodes, for example, or
access to ... health services on
the basis on where you live
– this is not going to change
that,” Powell said.
The change would not strip
away bureaucracy but reposition
it, he said.
Canterbury DHB former
acting chairperson Tā
Mark Solomon told Morning
Report the news of the
reform was “like an atomic
bomb being dropped with no
warning”.
It was true there were issues
with the delivery of health services
to isolated regions, he
said: “But extending the size of
each of the health areas won’t
reduce that, it’ll increase it.
Because you are having bigger
areas coming together”.
The Ministry of Health had
been the “biggest impediment
to health delivery in this country,
because of the way they
have acted”, he claimed.
Predictably, the opposition
National Party has called the
reform reckless, saying small
communities will be stripped of
their voice, and health spokesperson,
Shane Reti, claiming
the proposed new regime will
likely end up another sprawling
bureaucracy.
Party leader Judith Collins
has already announced that
National would reverse the
restructuring.
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The have recognised what
the issues are very well.”
– Nigel Tutt
Business operators
optimistic on commissioners’
appointment – p6
Anne Tolley says the commissioners
were acutely aware of the tight
18-month time frame.”
Commissioners
front up to Tauranga
challenge – p6
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