Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: Simeon Brown needs to convince more than just voters

I've got a lot of time for Simeon Brown - he's a very good politician, but I reckon he might want to take the advice of Chris Hipkins - a man who was also once the Health Minister - and just tone down the fighting talk.

Because accusing the striking senior doctors of the worst kind of politics is not going to help anyone. The only thing that is going to help right now is money - and he is simply going to have to pony up the cash and pay those doctors a lot more.

Look, I know, there will not be a lot of public sympathy for doctors who are on that kind of money - whether it's $350,000 like Simeon claims or only $250,000 like the doctors claim - it doesn't matter whether we think they're paid not enough or too much
 
What matters is what the rest of the world pays, because that’s who we are competing against for senior doctors. 
 
NSW, I've been told, is the part of Australia that pays senior doctors the least, and their starting pay is more than what our senior doctors get on the highest level here. And they, by the way, just had a three-day strike themselves.

We already have such a shortage of senior doctors in this country that in Taupo Hospital not even a third of the positions are filled. I don't know how they're running that place.

So while I appreciate that Simeon Brown is a very good politician and could well end up wining the PR battle against the doctors - ultimately, it's not the voters he has to convince, it's the doctors. 

And there, money talks.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
I've got a lot of time for some Simeon Brown.
I just feel like I need to say that I
think he's a very good politician, but I feel like
Simeon Brown might want to take a little bit of
advice from Chris Hipkins of all people today, because he
was once the Health Minister as well, and Simeon might
just want to tone down the old fighting talk because
accusing the striking senior doctors of the worst kind of
politics at our etc. Is really not going to help anyone.

(00:22):
The one the only thing is going to help people
right now is actually throw some money at those senior doctors.
And I'm sorry, but Simeon Brown, for everything that he
may feel about how upset he is that they're going
on strike, is simply going to have to pony up
the cash and pay these senior doctors a lot more. Look,
I know he's probably on the right side of public opinion.
This is simian. There's not going to be a lot
of public sympathy for doctors who are on the kind

(00:43):
of money that they are, whether it's three hundred and
fifty thousand dollars like he says, or two hundred and
fifty thousand dollars. Like they say, it doesn't really matter
what they're on and it doesn't really matter whether we
think they paid enough or whether we think they paid
too much. What matters is what the rest of the
world pays, because that is who we are competing with
for these senior doctors. New South Wales, i've been told,
is the part of Australia that pays senior doctors the least,

(01:06):
and their starting pay for senior doctors in New South
Wales is apparently more than what our senior doctors get
when they are on the highest level in New Zealand.
And they, by the way, who are paid more than
our doctors in New South Wales, have just had a
three day strike themselves. Now, we already have such a
shortage of senior doctors in this country that in Taupo
Hospital the news will tell you today not even a

(01:27):
third of their positions are filled. The roster is really
I don't know how they're running that place on the
number of senior doctors they've got. Now, while I appreciate
that Sami and Brown is a very good politician, could
well end up winning the pr battle against the doctors,
ultimately it's not the voters that he has to convince
with his good words. It's the doctors with his money.

(01:47):
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