The Government’s top health officials were so concerned by its decision to repeal the smokefree generation law that at least one considered quitting.
Documents released by Te Whatu Ora show outright anger from top health officials, who discussed how to try and stop the Government’s repeal of a law which would have led to New Zealand stopping the sale of cigarettes.
Te Whatu Ora national director for public health, Dr Nick Chamberlain said he was so concerned by the moral and ethical dilemma of repealing the smokefree legislation that he was considering whether he could continue working in the role.
As the national public health director, Chamberlain is one of the Government’s most important health officials – effectively a deputy chief executive of the department operating every hospital. Before this, he worked for 12 years as chief executive of Northland DHB. He remains working at Te Whatu Ora.
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If they are opposed to the new public policy then they should just quit.
But the issue is so much worse than just being annoyed about a change of Government.
Chamberlain, alongside Director-General of Health Dr Diana Sarfati and Apa, worked with other top health advisors to provide urgent advice to Cabinet about repealing the smokefree legislation.
Apa suggested the focus on the financial burden of repealing the legislation.
“We need to make legislation look like the cheapest option,” she said.
They also discussed how unpopular, both among the medical profession and the public, repealing the bill was.
Safarti wrote, “The Government is certainly under considerable pressure”.
She agreed that cost should be focused, but warned against other suggestions – including advice that the Government could consider introducing a sugar tax to offset the public health cost of increased smoking.
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These clowns have breached the civil service code of ethics; they’ve jimmied their advice to try and hoodwink ministers into doing what they wanted – not what the coalition was voted in to do.
Look at the wording: “We need to make legislation look like the cheapest option“.
Either it is cheaper or it isn’t, but we can’t know what the reality is and never will get a straight answer now because they’ve tried to make it look like it was.
Which means we can’t trust a thing that they say, ever.
They can no longer be trusted. They need to be sacked.
Cam Slater is a New Zealand-based blogger, best known for his role in Dirty Politics and publishing the Whale Oil Beef Hooked blog, which operated from 2005 until it closed in 2019. Cam blogs regularly on the BFD - where this article was sourced.
6 comments:
Now, about the vaping epidemic.?
Agree Cam
I think one fundamental change the Government needs to make is, that say the top 5 people in each Department are appointed by the Minister (or even just the CEO). They may stay on from the previous Minister's appointment but the key is the Minister can hire and fire.
The job of civil servants is to: (1) to provide balanced, impartial advice to the government; and (2) to implement government policy as directed.
I’m with Cam in this: if you can’t do the job, FO!
We live in a free country, but with that freedom comes a certain amount of responsibility. I used to smoke 80 cigarettes a day and suffered daily with severe headaches. Many of my mates did likewise. I was responsible for my wife and three young children - and gave it up over 40 years ago. I gave myself a hefty pay rise and gone were the headaches. I tasted food for the first time in years.
My workmate Bill went to a heart specialist for a heart-valve transplant and was told to give up smoking and return in three months for the replacement. Three months later Bill told the specialist that he had knocked smoking back to which the specialist replied: "Get out of here and stop wasting my (expletive) time". A further three months later, Bill had the job done. He was coming round in hospital and a man in the next bed took up conversation with him. The man, Ron, had both of his legs removed at the hips. When Bill asked why Ron said "smoking cigarettes, but how am I going to manage in two weeks?" Bill asked what would happen, to which Ron replied that he was going to have both of his arms removed at the elbows - for the same reason!
A thought: Persuasion might work better than legislation.
Kevan
To Anon @ 11.35 AM, 12 July -
Do you think the Minister for The Civil service should ask the Head of NZ Civil Service, to stop showing, to current staff (as a training update) & new recruits all the episodes of the TV Series - Yes Minister as a training aid?
If you think we have issues here in NZ (note name of Country) then you should note that it has been "leaked" that the Civil Service in the UK, not only thinks they run the Country, but in many instances have -
[1] - deliberately undermined a Minister
[2] - and done so due incompetence with Ministers in a "recently departed Govt".
Cam - agree.
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