Podiatrists to get a firmer toehold on healing patients while builders will check the quality of their own handiwork
The Government’s deregulatory impulse is evident in the latest posts on the government’s official website.
Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee clucked sympathetically about compliance-cost concerns raised by BusinessNZ; podiatrists were promised being given a firmer footing to prescribe for their patients; and builders will soon be enabled to police their own handiwork.
Nicole McKee welcomed a BusinessNZ’s report which addresses the reduction of the compliance burden on small businesses.
She wants to assure business people she is on the case – at least in the case of the costs of dealing with money laundering laws.
“The challenges outlined in the report released today echo many of the concerns I have heard from businesses, which have informed my Anti Money Laundering/Countering Financing Terrorism (AML/CFT) priorities,” she says.
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti and Associate Minister David Seymour welcomed news that podiatrists will soon be able to prescribe medicines, which means that patients with painful foot and leg conditions will not have to make a separate trip to a doctor.
Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk announced plans to develop a new opt-in self-certification scheme for trusted building professionals and accredited businesses. The scheme, which will go through “a robust consultation process”, features two key pillars.
Nicole McKee welcomed a BusinessNZ’s report which addresses the reduction of the compliance burden on small businesses.
She wants to assure business people she is on the case – at least in the case of the costs of dealing with money laundering laws.
“The challenges outlined in the report released today echo many of the concerns I have heard from businesses, which have informed my Anti Money Laundering/Countering Financing Terrorism (AML/CFT) priorities,” she says.
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti and Associate Minister David Seymour welcomed news that podiatrists will soon be able to prescribe medicines, which means that patients with painful foot and leg conditions will not have to make a separate trip to a doctor.
Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk announced plans to develop a new opt-in self-certification scheme for trusted building professionals and accredited businesses. The scheme, which will go through “a robust consultation process”, features two key pillars.
- Qualified building professionals, such as plumbers, drainlayers and builders, will be able to self-certify their own work, for low-risk builds, without the need for an inspection. This brings them in line with electricians and gasfitters who can already do this and is something the industry has been calling for, for years.
- Businesses with a proven track-record – for example, group homebuilders who build hundreds of near identical homes a year – will be able to go through a more streamlined consent process.
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Release 30 October 2024
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Health Minister Dr Shane Reti and Associate Minister David Seymour say it’s great news that podiatrists will soon be able to prescribe medicines, meaning patients with painful foot and leg conditions don’t have to make a separate trip to the doctor.
The Government is addressing historic redress inequities for some survivors abused at the Lake Alice Child and Adolescent Unit.
Associate Education Minister David Seymour says that the Education Review Office’s (ERO) timely report on chronic school absence released today is further evidence of a truancy crisis.
29 October 2024
Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee welcomes BusinessNZ’s report which addresses reducing the compliance burden on small businesses.
The Government is proposing further significant action to reform the building and construction sector to support more affordable homes and a stronger economy, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says.
Dr Alan Bollard CNZM and Mr Bharat Guha have been appointed to the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) board, Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds says.
In her statement, Nicole McKee said she had recently announced an AML/CFT work programme that will deliver substantial reform to the AML/CFT regime.
Many of the challenges to businesses identified in the BusinessNZ report on compliance costs would be addressed through this work, she said.
“In particular, we are focused on improving problem areas for business such as customer due diligence (CDD) settings. CDD is the highest cost area for businesses and reducing even a small amount of that duplication while maintaining quality CDD information will provide a large amount of relief to businesses.
“According to the BusinessNZ report small businesses want clear, accessible guidance and support to allow them to navigate AML requirements. Moving to a single AML/CFT supervisor will remove the barriers to issuing guidance and ensure that clear, consistent guidance is produced in a timely manner to support businesses.
“ACT campaigned on making AML compliance user-friendly for small businesses and my AML/CFT work programme will consider opportunities to reduce the overall burden on businesses. This includes expanding the range of exemptions available and simplifying the application process to make it more available for small to medium sized businesses.”
Shane Reti and David Seymour said the Government intends to take its podiatry plan to Cabinet before the end of this year.
“The change will see podiatrists joining other health professions with designated prescribing authority, including specifically trained nurses, dieticians, and pharmacists.
“The change will bring New Zealand into line with a number of other countries, including Australia, Canada, the US and UK.”
David Seymour says the change allows for more direct access to health care, and savings for both people and the health system.
“For too long, podiatrists have been restricted to providing a limited number of pharmacy-only or restricted medicines for skin care treatments or small surgical procedures.
“That limits their scope. Additionally, stepping up with additional training and allowing a greater level of prescribing by podiatrists will assist those with high health needs and reduce the costs and delays for patients if additional doctor’s visit had been required.
“The change will also make better use of the country’s nearly 500 podiatrists who usually work in community settings, and in rural areas.
“We know conditions like shin splints and bunions can be extremely painful and that getting pain relief that is only available on prescription has often meant needing to see a GP as well.
“As a Government, we want to make healthcare as easy to access as possible, and this change is an important step towards that,” says David Seymour.
The change also recognises the role podiatrists play in reducing the risk of limb amputations for people with chronic health conditions like diabetes.
The Ministry of Health is currently developing the list of medicines that specially trained podiatrists will be able to prescribe, and list is likely to be completed in the first half of next year.
Chris Penk said the building consent system is intended to protect homeowners from defective building work by requiring work to be inspected and consented by a Building Consent Authority.
“But the regime is inefficient and adds cost and time to the build process, which makes it harder for Kiwis to realise their dream of homeownership.
“It takes on average 569 days for a home be built and consented – amid a housing shortage, that is simply too long to wait.”
At the moment, a single-story basic home might go through 10 or more separate inspections. This is clearly too many and the cost-benefit has become unbalanced.
“Building professionals are already subject to quality assurances such as requirements to be registered and hold a practicing license; keep records of their work; and have their details held in a publicly searchable database.”
But as part of the scheme’s design there would be additional safeguards including:
- a clear pathway that customers can access to remedy poor work,
- strengthened qualification requirements for building professionals, and
- strict disciplinary actions for careless or incompetent self-certifiers
“We know from international evidence that most defective building work happens in complex large developments – we want inspectors to focus their resources on this kind of work.
“Under the current consent settings, councils and their ratepayers are liable for all defective work. This naturally creates a highly conservative approach to consenting, which further slows the process. A model where building practitioners shoulder more of the risk should incentivise better quality work and lower the liability risk for ratepayers.
“We will make detailed policy decisions in the new year following thorough consultation, which will consider what residual role existing Building Consent Authorities should have in the self-certification scheme, for example through an auditing function.”
Kiwis needed confidence in the safety and quality of their homes, Penk said, but it was possible to do this through a more streamlined assurance pathway.
Point of Order is a blog focused on politics and the economy run by veteran newspaper reporters Bob Edlin and Ian Templeton
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