health

Categories under health

God, she writes like she talks

Written By: - Date published: 2:44 pm, July 5th, 2010 - 55 comments

Paula Bennett in a letter to Tariana Turia: “Because of that sort of addiction it can be really tough on them and you see, certainly, financial hardship being increased and I think also with that sort of stress you can look at domestic violence,”. I don’t think that sentence would pass the national standard.

Raise the drinking age

Written By: - Date published: 11:30 am, July 1st, 2010 - 103 comments

I was neutral in the debate on lowering the drinking age back in 1999. There were arguments on both sides. But ten years later it is clear that the experiment has failed. There have been several recent calls to raise the drinking age and take other effective action to restrict the damage that alcohol causes in NZ. Come on Key – show some leadership.

Smoking in prisons

Written By: - Date published: 9:17 pm, June 28th, 2010 - 63 comments

I’m supportive of the government’s move to end smoking in prisons. I think the real winners will actually be the two thirds of prisoners who smoke. They will be forced to break their addiction. I don’t think there’s any serious justification for concerns that banning smokes could lead to more trouble in jails or that the prospect of not getting any ciggies will be enough to deter crime.

Money for tax cuts for rich, none for doctors’ pay

Written By: - Date published: 12:22 pm, June 21st, 2010 - 9 comments

Tony Ryall, like Anne Tolley, is facing a big fight over wages. The health budget is chock-full of cuts as it is and Ryall says there simply isn’t any money to give doctors pay rises as they and other workers face nearly 6% inflation next year. The government can find billions for tax cuts for the rich but not to pay doctors and teachers. Priorities.

Won’t Somebody Think of the Children?

Written By: - Date published: 10:20 am, June 8th, 2010 - 24 comments

According to a new report: “New Zealand is a great place for children if their parents have a good income, live in a warm dry house and are well educated.” However if you’re not born into a privileged household, then death and disease “is worse than that of all but two [developed] countries, Mexico and Turkey.”

What to watch for

Written By: - Date published: 2:44 pm, May 19th, 2010 - 4 comments

We already know that National’s big economic plan this budget is a tax swap from working Kiwis to the rich that will not affect growth but will increase inequality. There’s some money for science and Kiwirail, which is good but only partially reverses the cuts that National imposed last year. The two big items in the budget that the Nats have control over (assuming no cuts to benefits or super) are education and health. The increases in these two sectors are the things to watch.

Tax hike but why no display ban?

Written By: - Date published: 10:10 am, April 29th, 2010 - 48 comments

I’m not against rising the excise on tobacco but everyone knows that if this government was serious about reducing the harm from tobacco this isn’t the best way to go about it. The best thing to do would be to ban tobacco displays. Upping the excise takes more money out of the pockets of the poor but it has only a minor effect on reducing smoking.

Big fat Tolley folly

Written By: - Date published: 12:45 pm, April 26th, 2010 - 35 comments

Comment from an international expert reported in The Herald today reminded me that National Standards aren’t the only ideologically driven folly that Tolley is forcing down the throats of schools. She’s also doing her bit to contribute to a major health problem…

John Carter: sleeper-agent for the Left?

Written By: - Date published: 10:04 pm, April 12th, 2010 - 20 comments

How dumb was John Carter to use his speech at the Grey Power National Conference to have a cry because Grey Power’s participating in an inquiry into aged care by Labour, the Greens, and the Progressives? You don’t try to bully Grey Power with its 100,000 members. The grey voters will be leaving National in droves.

Obama delivers change

Written By: - Date published: 10:30 am, March 23rd, 2010 - 36 comments

It has taken nearly a year and cost President Obama a lot of his popularity, thanks to the spineless behaviour of many House Democrats, but the final barrier has been passed to the US getting universal health-care. Obama’s health reform bill passed the House yesterday by a narrow margin. It now needs to win a […]

O’Sullivan and Garrett, strange bedfellows?

Written By: - Date published: 10:37 am, March 6th, 2010 - 6 comments

Fran O’Sullivan is a pro-business liberal or libertarian, David Garrett is a knuckle brain conservative. But actually, they’re not so far apart. It seems both believe in freedom for the rich and control over the poor. Incredibly O’Sullivan goes into bat for Garrett over his sterilisation comments.

Wee gripes: Cop attacks, whaling, dr shortage

Written By: - Date published: 1:15 pm, February 22nd, 2010 - 26 comments

No chance some gang f#ckwits would be deterred by longer sentences.
What happened to that plan of Key’s to end whaling?
How do we get a high wage economy when National opposes each and every wage rise?

Policy roulette

Written By: - Date published: 1:30 pm, February 8th, 2010 - 29 comments

I don’t recall the date or anything, but I remember the exact moment I decided to get politically active. Rob Muldoon was called by some brave journalist on the fact that National seemed to be ignoring all its election manifesto promises. Muldoon just grunted, and said that manifesto promises were dreamed up by advertisers, and […]

Why should the rich get to queue-jump?

Written By: - Date published: 10:41 am, January 26th, 2010 - 141 comments

Rahui Katene is worried that people who can’t afford stomach staplings here (which supposedly cures diabetes, although the evidence is mixed) are getting unsafe surgeries done overseas. The problem is the private health industry. A private stomach stapling costs $28,000. Well beyond the reach of most. Only the well-off can afford it. The result: allocation […]

You’re not a doctor, Tariana

Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, January 26th, 2010 - 46 comments

Tariana Turia got her stomach stapled to tackle her diabetes and it seems to have worked. She wants more people to get the operation. If stomach stapling is a cost-effective way to treat diabetes and will prevent the need for other medical care I think that’s great. What I don’t want to see happen is […]

Cowardly

Written By: - Date published: 1:05 pm, January 23rd, 2010 - 25 comments

This is how Health Minister Tony Ryall announced the Government would be appealing the court decision to try to get out of paying people for caring for disabled children:  – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – Better support for family caregivers recommended Press […]

Over-promise, under-deliver on health

Written By: - Date published: 10:35 am, January 15th, 2010 - 7 comments

Last year, Tony Ryall announced health reforms (ironically, an additional layer of beaurcracy) that he claimed would save $700 million over five years, about 1% of the health budget. Now, Labour has revealed, that estimate is at the high end of a range and the low-end is just $350 million. Worse, this isn’t even an official government figure, […]

PHARMAC on the altar of free trade

Written By: - Date published: 7:36 am, November 18th, 2009 - 25 comments

Yesterday John Key indicated that he might be willing to dismantle PHARMAC if it gets us a better free trade deal with the US*. We’re lucky to have a few great institutions in New Zealand that deliver for everyone at a lower cost than other countries – ACC is one, PHARMAC is another. both are […]

Nanny State

Written By: - Date published: 2:41 pm, October 8th, 2009 - 58 comments

Under new laws proposed by John Key we’re going to need a prescription to get any cold medicine with pseudoephedrine in it. Anyone who has found themselves coming down with a flu or cold as they run up to an important deadline will tell you there’s nothing like pseudoephedrine to get you across the line. […]

World Vegetarian Day October 1st

Written By: - Date published: 10:32 am, October 1st, 2009 - 85 comments

I’m a vegetarian and today, October 1st, is the worldwide day to celebrate the benefits of not eating meat and the healthy contribution to a better society vegetarianism makes. The personal is political. My choice to eschew meat for 30 years has exposed me to abuse from chefs, sexually coded remarks from ‘red blooded’ men, […]

Socialist America

Written By: - Date published: 9:21 am, September 26th, 2009 - 8 comments

The health care debate going on in America is a very serious debate, and who wins it has important implications for what kind of direction America takes from here (more in a later post perhaps). The Republican / Conservative / talk back radio framing of the debate is as dishonest as it is predictable. This […]

Banning smoking

Written By: - Date published: 9:44 am, September 24th, 2009 - 69 comments

I have a lot of respect for Hone Harawira. The voting for a Tory government thing has lessened it but his hatred for the tobacco companies balances things out. Harawira wants smoking banned. Says he would love to whip or worse the smoking company bosses (you know they cut the price of cigarettes during the recession so […]

Be bold on smoking

Written By: - Date published: 9:27 am, September 14th, 2009 - 21 comments

Very good piece by Anthony Hubbard in the Sunday Star Times: The Maori Party is pressuring the government to take tough new anti-smoking measures including a hefty price rise and a ban on retail displays and is calling for a select committee inquiry to “bring these bastards from the tobacco companies out in the open”. […]

Just put it away

Written By: - Date published: 2:24 pm, September 13th, 2009 - 32 comments

I know this free condoms idea is just a remit, not Labour Party policy, but it’s exactly the kind of thing that the right has used to drive a wedge between Labour and it’s working-class base. It is a liberal idea that conservatives on the left and right will be repelled by and it creates […]

Political debate done right

Written By: - Date published: 12:37 pm, September 7th, 2009 - 3 comments

The last video I posted had Democratic Congressman Barney Frank taking the fight to a woman in the audience of a townhall meeting who had just compared the proposed health care reforms to Nazism. He finished by saying: “trying to have a conversation with you would be like trying to have a conversation with a […]

Hoist with his own petard

Written By: - Date published: 11:38 am, August 26th, 2009 - 10 comments

Last week, Tony Ryall used his time in the big chair for, surprise, surprise, a little preening. He decided to take credit for the 12,000 more elective surgeries conducted fiscal year, a year in which Labour set the budget and Ryall was only minister for the second half (of which he took one month off) Well, […]

Healthcare – need or wealth?

Written By: - Date published: 11:32 am, August 25th, 2009 - 44 comments

I don’t know if you’ve been following the healthcare debate in the States. Obama’s trying to bring in a plan that gets their ludicrously backward and complicated system part way towards the universal system every other developed country has. The Right’s going nuts. These next two clips prove that Jon Stewart is the smartest man […]

When preening goes wrong

Written By: - Date published: 11:21 am, August 21st, 2009 - 14 comments

Tony Ryall had his chance in the big chair yesterday, sitting in for the Prime Minister in Question Time. A chance for self-promotion, naturally. So the first question was from Jackie Blue to Ryall on elective surgery numbers: Dr Jackie Blue: What reports has the Minister seen of the results for the 2008-09 year just […]

On the scrap heap

Written By: - Date published: 3:50 pm, August 15th, 2009 - 26 comments

Call me old fashioned if you will, but I like the idea that reforms of government activity should be concieved and implemented by experts in the particular field in question. Which makes me wonder, why the hell has Tony Ryall appointed a financial guy, Murray Horn, to lead a ministerial review into the health system? […]

Folic acid fiasco

Written By: - Date published: 2:00 pm, July 14th, 2009 - 30 comments

I just don’t see why medicating an entire population to prevent a handful of spina bifida cases, which will only work if women eat far more bread than they do, is a good idea. It’s such a grossly untargeted and unsophisticated approach. Saying ‘well many women don’t get enough folic acid and many pregnancies are […]

Nats can NOHSAC

Written By: - Date published: 12:00 pm, July 14th, 2009 - 7 comments

One of the most fundamental rights at work is the right to come home at the end of the day healthy and safe. Now that work right, like so many others, has come under attack from National. NOHSAC, the National Occupational Health and Safety Advisory Committee, was set up by Margaret Wilson in 2003 to […]