David Seymour: Associate Health Minister on free GP visits for 14 to 24 year old Māori and Pasifika

In Hawkes Bay, Health NZ has made GP visits for 14 to 24 year-olds free for Māori and Pasifika. 

Health Minister Shane Reti has requested “further information”. 

Associate Health Minister David Seymour tells Heather du Plessis-Allan Health NZ will soon face a directive that public services must be delivered on need not race – a party coalition commitment set to be released imminently. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Health Minister has asked for a please explain after learning
that Health New Zealand has decided to make GP visits
in Hawks Bay free for fourteen to twenty four year
olds if they're Mari or Pacifica. This is very much
out of step with what the coalition government's policies are.
Act Party Leader and Associate Health Minister David Seymour.

Speaker 2 (00:16):
Is with us.

Speaker 1 (00:16):
He David, heyither, what are you going to do about it?

Speaker 2 (00:21):
Well, we're relying on our Minister of Health to issue
the please explain. Technically they can say that it's operational,
but at the end of the day they will very
soon face a Cabinet circular, a directive to the entire
public service which they must follow that says public services
must be delivered on need not race, which is an

(00:41):
Act Party coalition commitment that is going to be released imminently,
and I think that's going to fine, finally make it
official for these bureaucrat to it. Kind of like those
Japanese soldiers after World War II. They're all through the
public service, still fighting the war, but I can tell
them the war's over.

Speaker 1 (00:59):
So is it the case that despite what you guys
may say, short of the circular. Despite what you guys
may say at the moment, howth New Zealand could just
give you the finger and carry on?

Speaker 2 (01:09):
Well, you can put it that way. I'd describe it
this way. It's not like flicking a switch. So yep,
there'll be people out there who say, well, we voted
for you guys, for change, why hasn't this change. Ultimately,
the New Zealand government, I think, is about a quarter
million people and it's all about getting change in behavior
and attitude. And some of them, of course, their starting
point is totally opposed. They won't have voted for the government.

(01:31):
They think that they can undermine it. But over time
we subdue them and say, actually, know that the people
of New Zealand do want this. And the ultimate persuasion
is that we are all human. Universal humanity is what
unites us, and the sooner we start focusing on that
rather than making ethnicity our primary characteristic, the sooner we

(01:52):
can get stuck into addressing the real issues like poor
quality housing and diet.

Speaker 1 (02:01):
Do you think how New Zealand is trying to be
defined and undermine the government.

Speaker 2 (02:06):
I have no doubt there will be people there who
genuinely believe in the ideology that the Treaty of White
Tongue is a partnership between races, and therefore we should
first approach New Zealanders as members of a racial group.

Speaker 1 (02:23):
Are you saying they know full well with the government's
position on the stuff is, and they're just being defined
and carrying on anyway?

Speaker 2 (02:29):
Well, put it this way, if they don't know what
the government's position is, I'm not really sure how else myself,
Chris lux and Winston Peters or any other member of
the coalition government, we've been saying it pretty clearly and
very soon we will issue a cabinet circular.

Speaker 1 (02:47):
How hard is it to issue this cabinet circular? It's
just a notification. Why don't you get onto it?

Speaker 2 (02:53):
Well, we actually have done it. But what I would
say is that it's not as simple as just saying everything,
need not rape. What we have done and you'll see
it soon is outlined exactly how you go through the
process of saying, okay, there's some people who aren't doing
so well healthwise, let's look at all the reasons for that.
So I mentioned housing, for example, living in rural areas,

(03:14):
being poorer, you know, perhaps lifestyle choice, is smoking, eating,
and so on. Let's look at all the data, at
all the evidence, and hey, if all of that stuff notwithstanding,
there's still a difference between Mari and non Murray, then
I don't mind targeting Mario as a group. But let's
use the actual data because I think what you'll often find, well,

(03:35):
actually it reminds me of you'll mate Paddy Gower, who
once said I want David Seymour to tell me why
a person living right next door to this house lives
seven years less than a Pakia. And the thing is, Paddy,
he was in a house in gray Lynn. Now a
person that lives in a five million dollar villa in
gray Lynn probably has a whole lot of other features

(03:57):
about them that means they are going to live a
long period at a time, such as their wealth and
health and education and so on. And then that's first
of all, Patty Gower, as has been showing on your show,
as not a deep thinker. But second of all, we
do need deep thinking. We do need to dig into
the data and statistics and actually start targeting. Need because
once you start looking at the evidence instead of lasily

(04:19):
grouping people by race, not only is it less divisive,
but you can take a practical approach to Okay, maybe
it's housing.

Speaker 1 (04:25):
Okay, David, thank you very much. David SEEWAGC Party Leader,
Associate Health Minister. I was going to try to ask
David when's the circular coming out? But I thought you
could tell by the length of the answers we're going
to be here all day if I asked him that
quich maybe Laura could ask him on the line, please
and then let us know. For more from Heather Duplessy
Allen Drive, Listen live to news talks. It'd be from
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