OPINION
Public health is one of those sacred cows of the welfare state, like education and social welfare, that we never spend enough money on and God help any government that dares to entertain the possibility that too much money is actually the problem. For the National-led coalition to embark on a mission to slash waste and reform the health system is surprisingly bold and nearly as radical as the configuration of the Ministry of Health’s Area Health Boards into 23 Crown Health Enterprises in 1993. That National Government saw their majority slashed from 37 seats in 1990 to one in 1993.
At the beginning of the 2017 election campaign ACT didn’t have a health policy. Given the party’s libertarian-lean and widespread unpopularity, I guess the last thing the party felt was needed was another rod to beat itself with. However, part way through, it was decided that ACT did need a health policy after all and, mysteriously, I was given the role. In those days, readers may recall, the party polled well below one per cent and depended on the seat of Epsom for survival, so there wasn’t a bunker of highly paid policy wonks to depend upon. Unsurprisingly I wasn’t permitted to promise any radical cuts or new spending and eventually settled upon merging the existing 21 District Health Boards into five, with savings used to trial a $30 million mental health fund that patients could use to purchase services from the private sector.
