David Farrar: A simple science funding model

Shane Reti announced:

Following recommendations from the Science System Advisory Group, a single, independent board, called Research Funding New Zealand, will be established to make most funding decisions.

Bob Edlin: Mixed reaction to Dr Reti’s prescription for universities....

Mixed reaction to Dr Reti’s prescription for universities includes call for a funding injection to boost research

With a heavy sigh, a friend of PoO said it was a shame that Dr Shane Reti has failed to recognise that universities are different from the rest of the tertiary sector.

Chris Lynch: Government scraps traditional census, sharpens focus on faster, smarter data

The Government will scrap the traditional paper-based census from 2030 and shift to a modern, data-driven model, Statistics Minister Dr Shane Reti has announced.

The overhaul will see the nationwide five-yearly census replaced with a new approach based on administrative data already collected by government agencies, supplemented by annual surveys and targeted data collection to ensure accuracy.

Point of Order: Buzz from the Beehive - 3/10/24

Something for Shane Reti to smile about – good progress is being made to meet health targets

It’s great to see Health Minister Dr Shane Reti can bring us good news from a portfolio which – regardless of the extra funding his government has provided – will never have enough money to do everything that needs doing in the health domain.

He has welcomed new data from Health New Zealand, saying it demonstrates encouraging progress against the Government’s health targets.

David Farrar: Soper on ending racial priorities in surgery

Barry Soper writes:

It’s not often in this business that you can sit back with some satisfaction and feel justified a year later that a story you broke resulted in an outcome fair to all.

The formal part ethnicity played in hospital waiting lists caused a political storm.

Dr Michael Johnston: Dr Reti prescribes a bitter pill.

Health New Zealand has been quite economical lately.

I don’t mean ‘economical’ in the fiscal sense, of course. This is the public sector we’re talking about. No, like any good government agency, Health NZ has been spending like a drunken sailor on shore leave. Indeed, when it comes to financial extravagance, the organisation is an overachiever.

Ele Ludemann: Paying for Labour’s big mistake

Labour was warned that restructuring the health system during a pandemic would be a mistake.

It was, and a very expensive one.

Like many other Labour policies, high costs went on back room increases with no improvement in frontline services.

That has to change:

David Farrar: The Health NZ problems

Shane Reti announced:

In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today.

Graham Adams: Government breaks second cancer drugs promise

Dr Reti’s pledge to blood-cancer patients is forgotten.

The government has spectacularly driven itself into a brick wall by its failure to fund the 13 cancer drugs Chris Luxon promised on the campaign trail last year, and there has been no shortage of commentators, from both the right and the left, probing its self-inflicted wounds in the wake of its baffling Budget omission.

Dr Guy Hatchard: Government and Media Ignore Health Issues

The government, the media, and the health service have buried their heads in the sand and promised our health problems will go away.

Friday 08 March 2024: the government announced new health targets promising greatly shortened wait times and faster treatments, but incredibly failed to address why so many people are falling sick. Health Minister Shane Reti admitted the deficiencies in the announced policies, which are neither new nor realistic, saying:

Dr Guy Hatchard: Open Letter To: The Hon. Dr. Shane Reti, New Zealand Minister of Health

How Dialogue and Data Can Solve the New Zealand Health Crisis

Open Letter To:

The Hon. Dr. Shane Reti, New Zealand Minister of Health <shane.reti@parliament.govt.nz>
Cc: The Rt. Hon. Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister New Zealand <winston.peters@parliament.govt.nz>
Cc: Dr. Tony Blakely Director New Zealand Royal Commission Covid-19 Lessons Learned <antony.blakely@unimelb.edu.au>
Cc: Dr. Diana Sarfati, Director General of Health New Zealand <diana.sarfati@health.govt.nz>, <info@health.govt.nz>

For General Release

Dear Hon. Dr. Reti

David Farrar: 400 staff for the Maori Health Authority

That's a staggering amount of staff.

I'm sceptical of the effectiveness of the Maori Health Authority, but willing to be persuaded. If they genuinely can improve health outcomes for Maori, that would be great.

But I just can't imagine what 400 staff are going to do. That is nearly three times as many as Pharmac.

Wendy Geus: Govt back down on veto roundly ignored by media

Wendy Geus: Dr Reti uncovers explosive Government backdown on Māori health veto & Andrew Little misleads the House and press gallery look the other way

On the Wednesday before Easter Dr Reti sneaked a question to Andrew Little at the end of one of his Government’s patsy questions in the House:

"Is the Māori veto still in place in the health restructure"?

Taken by surprise, Little actually answered the question but went on the attack:

"No and it never was".

At times it seems like I am the only person paying attention.

Mike Hosking: Mongrel Mob meth programme exposed for what it is

 

Opposition player of the weekend goes to Dr Shane Reti, who has exposed the Mongrel Mob meth $2.75 million for what it is.

It's a soft Labour Party sop surrounded by no checks, balances, and certainly no rigour around expenditure of other people's money. 

This is the programme personally signed off by the Prime Minister because among other things, according to her, of its success rate.

Because Reti has got some medical background and a brain he asked a few pertinent questions.

Questions that should been stock standard of any government programme involving taxpayers' money.

How much testing was done on those before they entered the programme?