Simeon Brown: Health Minister on the Health NZ public health team weighing in on advocacy campaigns and food choices

Simeon Brown's hitting back over concerns of overreach from what he's calling the 'health police.'  

The Health Minister's directed public health doctors to stop weighing in on issues like fast food, and leading advocacy campaigns.  

But the comments, combined with looming job cuts, have sent shockwaves through the medical sector – who fear this 'censorship' would limit doctors' ability to effectively serve their communities.  

Brown told Ryan Bridge public health teams should primarily focus on immunisation targets.  

He says they shouldn't be waging war against council policies and people's choices about what they want to eat. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
National Public Health Services have been firing shots at the government.
Bit a tip for tach going on here. They're being
accused of overreach and trying to suppress the expertise of officials.
The health ministers Having none of this, he says that
they should. This is the health officials focus on the basics.
No more anti car, anti stallholder, anti Wanica, mcdonald'submission, nonsense.

(00:22):
Simeon Brown is with me now, Minister, good morning, good morning.
What sort of carry on do you want to see?

Speaker 2 (00:27):
Gon?

Speaker 1 (00:27):
Do you want to see them stop talking about the
environment to stallholders in Nelson.

Speaker 2 (00:33):
I'd love them to start focusing on our immunization targets
which are woefully behind, and stop trying to be the
health police and telling stallholders in Nelson they've got to
put up sign saying bring your own cups or stop
it trying to campaign against McDonald's stores in Wanaka. That's
not what the National Public Health Service should be focused on.

(00:54):
The should be focused on the expertise getting our immunization
rates up for our children and doing that job rather
than being being campaigners on issues where actually that's not
their job.

Speaker 1 (01:05):
Go and join Greenpeace.

Speaker 2 (01:07):
Absolutely. I mean the reality here is their job is
to focus on immunization targets. Are they to have a
promotional and educational role around a range of other issues.
But their job is not to be making submissions on
public policy matters and making and campaigning against shops which
people have to go and eat. I mean, I want

(01:28):
them being the health service, not the health police.

Speaker 1 (01:30):
The thing is, though they would argue that this is
part of their job, that health. I mean they use
the World Health Organization's definition of health, which is a
state of complete physical, mental, and social well being and
not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. Are you
saying to them ignore the WHO definition, This is outside
of your remit.

Speaker 2 (01:52):
No, what I'm saying is focus on your missing which
is make sure that our immunization wrapped up for our children,
which are significantly under the last government. One of the
key roles of the National public Health Service it should
be immunization of our children. They should focus on that
and stop sharing. There is another thing I read from
a submission they made to Nowson City Council was that
Nowson and City Council should should ban bann community groups

(02:16):
from selling raffle tickets because that might encourage gambling. I mean,
this is just absolutely ridiculous.

Speaker 1 (02:23):
Right, fair enough, it's mad. But you're the Health Minister now,
I mean, how many people are on this team writing
this stuff? Why don't they why don't you just get
them all fired?

Speaker 2 (02:32):
Well, I'm asking them if i'm asking how to focus
for the basics, do you expect well, I'm not. The
Health Museum is going through a process to find efficiencies
in their back office. They're doing that in this team,
and this is one of the teams that is been
being looked at. But what I would say, I mean
those are ultimately operational matters for Health Museum. I'm being

(02:52):
very clear at my expectations as to what this team
should be focused on, and that is, let's get our
immunization rates back up. Let's not go out there and
wage war against council policies and people's choices around what
they eat.

Speaker 1 (03:07):
All right, minister, thanks for your time, Simming Brown the
Health of Minister.

Speaker 2 (03:10):
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