Jason Walls: Political Editor on Director-General of Health Diana Sarfati's resignation

Another week has seen another Ministry of Health official’s resignation.

Was Dr Diana Sarfati pushed out?

A former defence and foreign minister is sounding the alarm about New Zealand’s position in the Pacific – should we be worried?

Newstalk ZB’S Political Editor Jason Walls joins the show.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Normally it would be Barry Soper at this moment. But
Barry has hurt himself. It's not serious, but it's enough
that he can't come to work because he's seeing a
doctor who's, you know, patching him up a little bit.
But yes, he's hurt himself. And I won't tell you
how he hurt himself, but he has hurt himself, which
is very unfortunate because I did promise that he would
talk to us today about Heather and Mackay and what's

(00:22):
happening at home. But I can't now, so you'll have
to wait till Monday when Ryan is back. But I
will talk about politics because Jason Walls has stepped into
the breach after Barry hurt himself. Hello, Jas, Hey, what
an intro.

Speaker 2 (00:35):
It's going to be sorry to let everyone down. It's
just me.

Speaker 1 (00:38):
No, you're our rock. Barry a flippity gibbet that flies
in the wind.

Speaker 3 (00:43):
Now.

Speaker 1 (00:45):
So we're talking about this with Rob Camble. Just after five,
another top Ministry of Health official has resigned. That is
the third in a week. They're dropping night flies. Are
they being pushed or are they jumping?

Speaker 2 (00:58):
Oh yeah, well, I mean you'd have to look at
this and say that if they're not being pushed, they're
deciding that eventually they probably would be. And today's a
perfect example. I mean, we had the statement this morning
out from Safati and she said that the challenges of
restructuring and unifying an entire health system is not to
be underestimated. She went on to say it is now

(01:18):
the time to allow someone new to take up the
mantle of one of the most challenging and rewarding roles
within the health sector. And then she went on to say,
and get this, now, having made the decision to go,
I have decided to leave promptly. Doesn't exactly sound like
somebody that is leaving because they've had a lovely time.
It's all sunshine and rainbows and they're just moving on

(01:38):
to the next thing. That's not the sort of thing
that somebody would say when they're leaving when everything is good.
So you would have to look at this situation and
think that, you know, we had Maji Appa leaving this
time last week. We've had the Directed General saying that
she's leaving this morning. Things are not all all fantastic
right at the top of health in New Zealand. And

(01:59):
that's not to say that the governments, specifically Simeon Brown
and Chris Luxon not happy. I mean they're probably clearing
house to allow for some of their own people to
come through. And speaking to press this afternoon, Health Minister
Simme and Brown, he had a message that he was
ken to hammer home and listen carefully because you might
not catch what that message was.

Speaker 4 (02:19):
I want to thank her for her commitment to ensuring
the health system delivers for New Zealanders and delivering these
targets so that we can deliver on those government targets
delivering and now we're making sure we're delivering and they
are focused on delivery, focus on delivery. We want to
empower them so they can deliver.

Speaker 2 (02:34):
Just call them the pizza man, because Simeon Brown wants
to deliver. Now, that was the thought that all that
was the thought that he was trying to get through today.
He was asked outright if he forced to fight the
out here's what he said.

Speaker 1 (02:48):
The Director General question.

Speaker 5 (02:50):
No.

Speaker 4 (02:50):
Look, ultimately, she made her own decision. Here what she
called me yesterday to let me know what decisions she
had made. And look, I wish you allivery best in
terms of the decisions she has made.

Speaker 2 (03:01):
So remember that she was appointed only in November twenty
twenty two to a five year term, so she didn't
need to leave or her term didn't expire until twenty
twenty seven. So there's a clear, clear reason as to
why she resigned so soon.

Speaker 1 (03:15):
Yeah, well, look, hold on, first of all, for the
people to know, Dianasavarati is basically the new Ashley bomb Field, right,
she's the Rectro General of Health. She went in there
in twenty twenty two. She was involved with one government
that was busy, sort of amalgamating everybody, and so there's
a big workload there. Suddenly there's a new government who's
actually devolving it all over again. There's a new guy
making more demands. I mean, she's running hither and that

(03:37):
all health people are. They've gone back and forth and
left him right, and they're not paid a huge amount.
And she just thought, nah, she just thought, nah. That's
what my opinion is. There's a former defense and a
foreign minister sounding the alarm about us a New Zealand's
position in the Pacific.

Speaker 2 (03:56):
Yeah, there is. Well, according to Waikato University Foreign policy
and Niche International Relations professor doctor Rubin stiff. We should
all be quite worried about what's happening right now. Have
a listen.

Speaker 3 (04:07):
Then it looks like the tr administration and are hitting
to try and in the rush of Ukraine war. To me,
it's because they want to fixate on the priority the theatre,
which is an endopercific. I'm hoping we don't cascade into war.
I don't know what probability to put on it. Fifty
to fifty doesn't sound great that I'll put fifty to
fifty on it, that there will be a conflict that
involves us in the nineteen fifteen year.

Speaker 1 (04:28):
Fifty to fifty bikes.

Speaker 2 (04:30):
I do not like those odds. Okay, fifty to fifty.

Speaker 1 (04:34):
I'm too over conservetion, But you boy.

Speaker 2 (04:37):
I might be right in the firing lines. So yeah,
not very good odds at all.

Speaker 4 (04:41):
Now.

Speaker 2 (04:41):
He was on a panel along with former National Minister
of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully and Labour's former Defense Minister
Andrew Little, and they both agreed the Pacific region had
become somewhat more more of a source of tension, and
McCully says that the US frankly are not doing a
good job.

Speaker 5 (04:59):
In the region. The US has not been able to
deliver stuff. The diplomacy has made a difficult fact that
in the compact stage we've got that Department of the
Interior is the lead players for many things. Those things
have been unhelpful.

Speaker 2 (05:14):
And guess who is stepping up And.

Speaker 5 (05:17):
Now you'll see China deliver stuff in a way that
UIs hasn't been able to.

Speaker 2 (05:23):
So if you've been paying attention to the news in
New Zealand this week, I mean this obviously dovetails of
what's happening with the Cook Island, so not surprised to
hear this at all. Andrew Little went on to talk
about how we need to increase our defense spending. Now,
I will not the Defense Capability Plan, which is essentially
the blueprint for a long term defense spending in New Zealand,
is still not out. It was meant to be out

(05:44):
late last year and it's been delayed a number of
times now, and there is some internal rumblings that is
because there's concerns about defense spending. But we're edging closer
to the budgets, so I'm wondering if it's just going
to be wrapped up into that now.

Speaker 1 (05:58):
All right, Jason thank you for stepping into the breach.
Was that guy named Ruben Stiff.

Speaker 2 (06:03):
Unless I'm pronouncing his name wrong, Yes, s T S
T E F F Steph.

Speaker 1 (06:08):
H Steff Okay, Steph. So I can't make the joke.
That was a Steph warning and it was right. But
there we go. There's a Friday, and we're loose, and
it's seven to five, and I thank you for your time.

Speaker 4 (06:17):
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Speaker 3 (06:20):
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