Former minister Andrew Little says he has confidence in the new commissioner of Health NZ, who was appointed after the Government sacked the agency’s board.
The former senior government minister said he only misses politics on “some days” as he spoke to Q+A about the Government’s plans to strip costs from Te Whatu Ora, ongoing developments related to AUKUS Pillar Two and Crown-iwi relations.
Little also expressed surprise at the speed and extent of policy reversals undertaken by the coalition government, describing some of the changes as “vindictive”.
‘I have faith in Lester Levy’ – former health minister
In July, the Government appointed Lester Levy to govern the health system after sacking the board of Health NZ Te Whatu Ora amid claims of a major budget blowout.
Little was the health minister who oversaw the creation of the nationwide mega-agency.
He told Q+A: “I don’t have information about what prompted them or what prompted the resignations of the board members. That was a good board.
While staff cuts are on the way, the new commissioner of Health NZ is assuring frontline staff that their jobs are safe (Source: TVNZ)
“They were talented people. We knew that this was going to be a challenging undertaking, and we wanted good people.”
The former minister said the “pressure was on” for Te Whatu Ora’s budget with what he saw in the funding forecasted for the agency in Budget 2024.
“I have faith in Lester Levy. I admire Lester Levy. I have confidence in him. He will make a difference. I only hope that he hasn’t oversold what he can do and the level of productivity improvement that he can achieve,” he said.
“I think the [funding] gap is significant and is going to get worse.
Lester Levy replaced the government agency’s board amid concerns around oversight. (Source: 1News)
“I cannot see a way through other than additional Government funding beyond what has been sold in this year’s Budget.”
Levy previously chaired three Auckland district health boards with extensive experience. The Government tasked him with addressing Te Whatu Ora’s financial problems, saying the agency had a deficit of $1.4 billion and needed a “turnaround plan”.
Cost-cutting is expected though Levy insists that frontline services won’t be affected.
In July, two members of the former Health NZ board criticised the Government’s characterisation of financial trouble at the agency, claiming it had spread misinformation.
A letter obtained by 1News from Te Whatu Ora former chair suggests Finance Minister Nicola Willis was misled about a crucial meeting by her treasury officials. (Source: 1News)
‘Constraints’ missing from debate over health spending
Little, the former health minister and architect of Te Whatu Ora, stressed that while New Zealanders rightfully desire high-quality healthcare, the resource-intensive nature of the sector means trade-offs are inevitable.
“I find a lot of the health debate at the moment not particularly helpful, because it doesn’t talk about priorities. It doesn’t talk about the fact there are constraints and how we make the most of what we’ve got,” he said.
“As a country, we need to have a good debate about what we think is the right level of spending. We’re a small country, so there’s always going to be limits.
Two brand new entities, Health NZ Te Whatu Ora, and the Māori Health Authority, Te Aka Whai Ora, are now working as one. (Source: 1News)
“There’s always going to be constraints.”
Little made the comment after being asked to reflect on the state of the health system, following the merger of the country’s 20 district health boards in 2021.
He said: “It was always going to be challenging because of the resourcing issues, because of the worldwide shortage of health workers, and the transition from the 20 DHBs and the ancillary other organisations and bringing them all together.
“That was always going to be a five-year-plus programme to get the consolidation, to get the benefits going. But, there’s an urgency to it, because there are people who have healthcare needs that are not being met, and they should be met.”
‘Vindictiveness’ in coalition’s changes – ex-leader opines
In the previous government, Little was a senior minister, holding responsibilities for health systems, security agencies and Treaty negotiations. He also had a short stint as opposition leader before the elevation of Jacinda Ardern at the 2017 election.
While acknowledging the coalition had campaigned on reversing many Labour policies, Little opined the scale and pace of the changes went beyond mere disagreements.
“It’s hard not to feel there’s a level of vindictiveness in some of what they’ve done,” he said. “Certainly in those early months, I was stunned, actually, at just the stuff that was stripped out and stripped away.”
He added: “What also surprised me is the willingness to strip away a range of measures and policies without anything to really replace it. And it just is setting us back.”
Q+A with Jack Tame is made with the support of New Zealand On Air