| Party | Response |
|---|---|
 |
Labour opposes the changes provided for in the Health Practitioner’s Competence Assurance Amendment Bill that would give the Minister of Health the power to direct responsible authorities, like the Medical Council.
The current Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003 isn’t perfect, but the answer is not ministerial control over professional bodies. It is practical fixes that get more practitioners safely registered and more patients seen sooner.  A Labour government will seek balanced representation on responsible authorities, protect the independence of professional regulators, and appoint people on merit, experience and suitability. – Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall Labour’s health policies can be found in full here: https://www.labour.org.nz/our-policies/ |
 |
We oppose the Bill in its current form. Decisions on competence, registration and scopes of practice should rest on clinical evidence, not the policy priorities of the Minister of the day, yet the Bill would let the Minister direct regulators such as the Nursing Council to give effect to Government policy. It also removes the express reference to Māori cultural competence from regulators’ functions. Our health plan reports to Parliament rather than the Minister, and our Te Tiriti policy commits us to reviewing recent changes to statutory Treaty provisions. – Health spokesperson Jessica Hammond Opportunity health policy can be found here: https://www.opportunity.org.nz/healthy_people |
 |
Te Pāti Māori opposes the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Amendment Bill as currently drafted. Our biggest issue is clause 20 which would erase standards for competencies that enable effective and respectful interaction with Māori.
We want to see a higher level of Māori governance, cultural competency, and a focus on equity in the regulation of our health workers. Te Pāti Māori’s full health policy can be found here and its education and training policy here. |
 |
The Green Party is concerned that the Bill would give ministers greater power to direct independent health regulators and create a ministerially appointed committee able to overturn registration decisions.
Workforce responsiveness matters, but patient safety, professional independence, Te Tiriti obligations and cultural safety must not be weakened. We oppose the Bill in its current form. – Health spokesperson Hūhana Lyndon The Green Party’s full health policy can be found here: https://www.greens.org.nz/health_policy |
 |
 National’s health spokesperson, current Minister of Health Simeon Brown, refused to answer any of Kaitiaki’s questions, citing NZNO’s “politicising” of health in the lead up to the General Election. |
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The ACT Party’s health spokesperson Todd Stephenson did not answer questions due to “capacity constraints”. |
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No answers were received from New Zealand First’s health spokesperson Casey Costello. |
Responses published in the order they were received.
