Thomas Coughlan: NZ Herald political editor on Simeon Brown urging the striking doctors to come back to the negotiating table

The Health Minister is making it clear he's not criticising doctors over pay - but their union. 

More than $5,000 senior doctors in the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists union have been striking today. 

Simeon Brown's urging them back to the negotiating table, saying thousands of surgeries - such as hip operations and knee replacements - have had to be delayed. 

NZ Herald political editor Thomas Coughlan questions if the doctors will accept a new offer.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thomas Coglan, the Herald's political editors, with us, Hey, Thomas,
they're good after to see the Health Minister as calling
the doctors back to the negotiating table. When is this
going to happen?

Speaker 2 (00:09):
Looks I mean they didn't even put the most recent
They didn't even put the most recent offer to the members.
So clearly there's not a there's not a great relationship here.
This this most recent offer didn't sound didn't sound all
that bad. I think a junior doctor, I think would
have get Sorry, a first year specialist would have had
a nine point five percent pay increase on the on
the last offer, which would have increased their pay by

(00:31):
about seventeen thousand dollars. Simeon Brown says, So it's not
it doesn't sound ungenerous. I think perhaps one of the
main sticking points is is the working conditions and staffing
levels in the hospitals. I think you've heard a lot
of commentary from the the union about about that, but certainly,
I mean you wouldn't if you were the union want
to try your luck too much with this. I think

(00:53):
four thousand, I think the Health New Zealand says four thousand,
three hundred procedures were delayed today. So there's only so
many times you can you can pull that trick before
you before you wear the public's patients. I'm thinking, of course,
about the teachers a couple of years ago. I think
they tried the public a bit too much. The yere So, yeah,
they seem to be pretty in a pretty intractable state

(01:13):
at the moment, but you would think that this can't
go on forever.

Speaker 1 (01:19):
No, how far short is this payoffer from what the
of what the doctors want?

Speaker 2 (01:23):
Look, I am I if they haven't, if they haven't
even put the most recent one to the members, I
would say it is a fair way off what they want.
I don't know what how much money there is left
in the and the kitty. Of course, Health New Zealand
has been cutting well, been trying to get spending down
after that finding that one half billion dollar deaficit last year.

(01:44):
But again, if if if the members weren't even asked
to vote in it, you'd have to say this is
there's probably a fair bit of a fear bit of
room between the two camps.

Speaker 1 (01:53):
Yeah, now explain something to me. Okay, So David Seymour
wants to cut a whole bunch of ministerial roles. But
does he actually want to cut ministries as well?

Speaker 2 (02:00):
Yeah, he he wants to do. The background of this
is he made a speech speech today about this. He cited,
putting back to New Zealand Initiative paper. I think this
absolute proliferation and ministries and departments, and we've seen it.
I mean recently you've got what the Climate Change Commission

(02:20):
got preened, and the last government to out a fitty
ministry of Pacific people's like aha, the Ministry for disabled people.
They've only just arrived recently. He pointed as well to
the fact that under the first MMP governments you have
these ministers outside of cabinet, you have a proliferation of ministries,
proliferation of ministers. He thinks you could actually reduce the

(02:42):
size of these down to maybe twenty twenty key ministers
and also abolish abolished portfolios that don't have a direct
ministry attached to them. I mean, and again you've seen
this recently that I mean James Meagan, the Minister for
the South Island.

Speaker 1 (02:55):
The last nonsense, isn't it.

Speaker 2 (02:57):
Well, the last time I checked, I read his briefing
to the end coming minister. As you know, you know,
every new minister gets their briefing to the incoming minister.
His one said, I'm sorry, minister, there are no staff
and this, which begs the question who wrote it?

Speaker 1 (03:12):
Very good question. Okay is this? I mean, look, I
love it. I love what David Seymore was talking about.

Speaker 2 (03:17):
It.

Speaker 1 (03:17):
Incidentally just happened to Sarah to be talking serendipitously be
talking about this yesterday ourselves. What are the chances that
he actually gets to do this, I mean, give me
the reality check here.

Speaker 2 (03:28):
Oh the reality check is not good. I would think
I would. It's a classic m MP. I think he
has a good chance of getting part of the way.
I think there is a good there are always good
opportunities for mergers and rationalizations. I think clearly the government
wants to reduce the public service. He's count a bit,
so we get part of the way. Whether he'll I mean,
whether he'll get the hold that's not happening the whole.

Speaker 1 (03:48):
Can I take heart from the fact that he's he's
talking about this in the same month as the budget.

Speaker 2 (03:54):
Well he he actually told the hero that this is
not a budget thing like this is, you know, so
it is you know.

Speaker 1 (04:03):
Question not to say it to me to b.

Speaker 2 (04:08):
Yes, I'm sorry.

Speaker 1 (04:09):
Tory is not going to be Andrew Little's deputy, is she?

Speaker 2 (04:12):
No? This is I mean? Andrew Little did this very
He was both very explicit but very cachful that he
represents change. Tory Fano is obviously not changed. She is
the current mayor. But if he becomes mayor, which seems
pretty likely, he'd be the favorite. Tory will not be
will not be his his deputy mayor. Biggest question who

(04:33):
will be? Uh? He will probably want to build a
good relationship around the council table, but not want to
perhaps reflect repeat the mistakes of Paul Eagle, who probably
built a coalition that was slightly too broad. I think
he probably reached across the aisle too much to the
right during the election campaign, which put off some of
his supporters on the left, which probably propelled Tory Foanna

(04:56):
to win the election that time round. So he's got
a difficult decision there. But certainly, you know Wellington, there
is there is a mood for change, very clearly in Wellington,
and certainly you know campaigning and acknowledging that you want
the incoment here to be your deputy is probably not
the best way to reflect that.

Speaker 1 (05:10):
It's a very few point, Thomas, Thanks very much, Thomas Codlan,
the Herald's political editor. Yeah, very smart move from Andrew Little,
because if you were listening to the show yesterday, so
it started with Tory floating the idea that she would
like to be his deputy and that he might like
to consider her in that role, and then if you
were listening to the show yesterday you will have seen
it and had kind of built up its own momentum
and people from the right were now saying that a

(05:30):
deal had been struck. So Andrew Little has clearly moved
today to just shut that down and he said she's
not going to be the deputy. And it's a smart
move because that's how people feel about Tory as the deputy.
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