Andrew Dickens: National’s trade-off between foreign aid and medicine shows how far we've fallen

National’s trade-off between foreign aid and Pharmac is a sign of just how far we’ve fallen.

Firstly, our spend on medicines through Pharmac has always been woefully low. It pales beside Australia’s investment and that’s never made sense to me.

Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: Directing more money to Pharmac is the sensible choice

So, Winston Peters is pretty upset, as you would expect, about National's plan to take money from the foreign aid budget and use it to fund medicines through Pharmac. But from where I'm sitting, that seems fairly sensible, doesn't it?

Bob Edlin: Brownlee’s bet with Willie Jackson is intriguing....

......but who has a record of it?

What was it that Mr Speaker said during Question Time? That Labour’s Willie Jackson – correction, the Honourable Willie Jackson – had not settled a bet with him?

John McLean: Evolution Of New Zealanders Into Entitled Aoteachondriacs

The future’s uncertain, and the end is always near

Sit down and pour yourself a strong one. Or a cup of tea. It’s all the same to me. I’ve got news for you. You are going to DIE. And, in the overall scheme of things, your death will come soon. The longer you live, the more likely it is that your last few years will be unproductive and unpleasant. In old age (if you get that far), you’ll be a burden on your fellow New Zealanders. There is no “right to life”.

John Robertson: Pharmac’s Treaty Theatre - Apartheid Rebranded as “Engagement”

For a split second, it looked like sanity had crept back into the public sector. Pharmac announced it was scrapping its Māori Directorate — and anyone with a working spine thought, “Finally. Maybe we’re done with the racial separatism.” But then came the inevitable bait-and-switch. The new acting CEO, Brendan Boyle, pipes up with the usual Orwellian mush: they’re not ending anything — they’re “creating a Māori engagement model that is more comprehensive, sustainable and effective.”

Translation? “We’re still doing apartheid — just with a better marketing team.”

Peter Dunne: Trump's tariffs

The government’s relief that New Zealand seems to have escaped a bullet regarding President Trump’s tariffs may be short lived. New Zealand exporters will face a flat 10 percent tariff on goods sent to the United States, but that is at the lower end of the scale of tariffs Trump has imposed on other countries.

However, that may not be where New Zealand’s tariff travails end, if history and the experience of other countries is any guide.

Professor Robert MacCulloch: Seems neither Pharmac's CEO, nor its Chair, have ever prescribed a drug in NZ...

Seems neither Pharmac's CEO, nor its Chair, have ever prescribed a drug in NZ, since, as a general rule, they both have no legal authority to do so.

Pharmac has not been performing well - no small matter when every Kiwi's life depends on it. Today it was announced its CEO, Sarah Fitt, has resigned, as confirmed by Pharmac's Board Chair Paula Bennett. As a general rule, to prescribe a drug, you must be a NZ registered Medical Practitioner. Neither Bennett not Fitt are, or ever have been, so its unlikely that between the two of them, they have ever done so. So the health of the nation has been put into the hands of two people - in charge of buying every drug we use - with neither of them being a doctor who has ever written prescriptions on a day-to-day basis.

George Thomson: Pharmac expands funding for new treatments, including cancer drugs

Pharmac will fund new treatments for five health conditions, including several cancer drugs, from 1 March 2025, increasing access to vital medicines for patients across New Zealand.

Associate Health Minister David Seymour and Health Minister Simeon Brown welcomed the decision, saying it reflects the government’s commitment to expanding treatment options and improving patient outcomes.

Point of Order: Buzz from the Beehive - 3/12/24

Yes, Givealittle has its fund-raising place – but it’s Christmas, and a govt-backed campaign will urge us to give a little bit more

Oops – a failure to press the right button yesterday followed by a failure to check what had (or hadn’t) been posted resulted in this Beehive Buzz report sitting in technical limbo overnight. Here it is. Meanwhile our team is working on the ministerial releases posted since then…

It looks like someone in the Luxon Government has lost the memo about keeping an eye on public spending and – imbued with festive-season spirit – is giving effect to how-to-be-kind guidance left behind by the Labour bunch.

Point of Order: Buzz from the Beehive - 1/11/24

Overseas psychologists are ruled out from treating us on cultural safety grounds – so the govt is lowering the bar for Kiwis

When you don’t have enough trained health workers to cope with the demand for help – what should be done?

Pave the way, perhaps, to approve practitioners with lesser credentials than those who now provide services.

Professor Robert MacCulloch: Multiple Sclerosis NZ argues....

Finance Minister Willis, Pharmac Chair Bennett & Regulation Minister Seymour Should Answer Multiple Sclerosis NZ

Evaluating spending and regulation decisions on the basis of objective criteria is a good thing. The standard tool in economics to do so in called Cost-Benefit Analysis. In a high quality, just-released report, Multiple Sclerosis NZ argues, with great lucidity, that Pharmac is not taking into account all costs & benefits on society when it decides which drugs to fund.

Point of Order: Buzz from the Beehive - 11/10/24

Hurrah – the RBNZ has lowered interest rates, but then the Crown accounts put a stopper on any celebrating with champagne

Finance Minister Nicola Willis was sounding chipper on Wednesday, after the Reserve Bank cut the Official Cash Rate (OCR) to 4.75 per cent – this was “welcome news” for families and businesses, she enthused

Point of Order: Buzz from the Beehive 9/9/24

Seymour and Doocey pop up with positive press statements while Kiwis are digesting data which reflects health worries

David Seymour, Associate Health Minister with responsibility for Pharmac, chose a good day to enthuse about the increased availability of medicines for Kiwis thanks to the Government’s increased investment in Pharmac.

Andrew Dickens: I'm truly confused over Dr Anthony Jordan's resignation from Pharmac

I have always avoided getting into the Treaty principles debate.

It’s just too much of a swamp to get trapped in.

Either you’re for David Seymour's debate on a reset, in which case some will call you a racist.

Peter Dunne: Health New Zealand

When it established Health New Zealand, or Te Whatu Ora as it was then known, in July 2022 the previous government took an enormous risk that ultimately failed. It gambled that, although its planned reforms of the public health sector would take years to fully implement effectively, it would be able to demonstrate enough progress by the time of the 2023 election to satisfy voters that the reforms were broadly a step in the right direction and worth persevering with.

Point of Order: Buzz from the Beehive - 12/7/24

An OECD report shows why Seymour is intent on shredding red tape

Our daily monitor of ministerial machinations and Beehive braying has been on the blink for the past week, alas. No, not a technical problem. Rather, a matter of ill-health.

Today we are catching up and herewith record the headlines posted on the government’s official website since we last buzzed on July 4.

David Seymour on Pharmac's Treaty Controversy

Michael Laws talks to ACT Leader David Seymour on the Platform about Pharmac's Treaty controversy.

Click to view

Dr Eric Crampton: Pharmac's free ride won't last for ever

If philosophy students remember one thing from their lectures on Immanuel Kant in undergraduate classes, it is his categorical imperative. It’s easy to remember because it’s an awful lot like the old Christian ‘Golden Rule’.

Where the Golden Rule says we should treat others as we’d wish to be treated, the categorical imperative says that we should set rules for our own behaviour that would lead to good outcomes if those rules were followed by everyone.

Heather du Plessis-Allan: I'm weirdly grateful for the Government's cancer drugs stuff-up

I think we can all see the Nats stuffed up the 13 cancer drugs announcement on so many levels.

They should never have promised specific drugs, that's Pharmac's job.

But having promised them for the first year, they shouldn't have then broken that promise by leaving them out of the Budget. 

And then, it's never really a good look if you finally get dragged to delivering on your promise because of public outrage.

Professor Robert MacCulloch: Seymour should never have politicized Pharmac....

Seymour should never have politicized Pharmac by making National's Biggest Fundraiser, Paula Bennett, its Chair.

I thought the ACT Party was meant to stand for meritocracy, something that has been missing in this country the past six years. I though ACT was meant to stand for the ideal of an independent Central Bank, run by monetary policy technocrats whose sole focus is to achieve price stability, which is a job that requires technocratic, not political, skills.