SUBMISSION ON THE PAE ORA (HEALTHY FUTURES) BILL – Don Brash

[Kiwi Frontline]

SUBMISSION ON THE PAE ORA (HEALTHY FUTURES) BILL – Don Brash

This Bill must be one of the worst pieces of legislation ever to come before the New Zealand Parliament in that it unashamedly and explicitly introduces racism into the New Zealand health sector.

For decades, New Zealanders opposed apartheid in South Africa. For decades New Zealanders opposed the fiction of “separate but equal” in the American education sector.

And yet here we are, in 2021, openly and apparently without embarrassment proposing to move New Zealand from a health system which treats all citizens on the basis of their need to one which provides care depending on a part of a citizen’s ancestry.

Far from being a move to align the health system with the Treaty of Waitangi, it does precisely the reverse. Article III of the Treaty did not pretend that the Crown could guarantee that all citizens would have perfect health, or perfect education, or would live to the same age as all other citizens. That would have been an absurdity. Article III guaranteed that the Crown would treat all citizens equally, by implication according to their need.

But suddenly the Treaty is being distorted beyond recognition by the suggestion that what the Crown has to deliver is equality of outcomes, which was surely not the intention or the expectation of either the Crown or the chiefs when the Treaty was signed.......

www.bassettbrashandhide.com/post/submission-on-the-pae-ora-healthy-futures-bill

[Kiwi Frontline]

WITH SUBMISSIONS ON THE BILL CLOSING AT MIDNIGHT ON DECEMBER 9 – and silence taken as acceptance – NZCPR are encouraging as many people as possible to send in a submission opposing the Bill. Submissions don’t need to be long nor complicated – just click HERE > www.parliament.nz/en/pb/sc/make-a-submission/document/53SCPOL_SCF_BILL_116317/pae-ora-healthy-futures-bill then follow the prompts and when it says, “I wish to make the following comments”, in your own words (since ‘form’ submissions are all counted as ‘one’) outline the points you want to make, such as:

I wish to oppose the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Bill.

My concerns include:

1) No public mandate has been sought for this Bill – Labour campaigned on consolidating our 20 democratically elected District Health Boards, not eliminating them.

2) No public mandate has been sought for segregating our health system – New Zealanders overwhelmingly support health services prioritised on clinical need, not race.

3) Undertaking a major restructure of the health system during is pandemic is reckless and will cost lives – by forcing key health staff to focus on the reforms instead of on the Covid crisis and on providing treatment for those tens of thousands of patients whose urgent medical care has been delayed because of the lockdowns.

I urge the Committee to recommend the Bill be immediately withdrawn so our health professionals can focus on saving lives.

Thank you.