1 00:00:00,560 --> 00:00:03,520 Speaker 1: Together do for sea. Ellen, listen, I agree with the 2 00:00:03,560 --> 00:00:05,680 Speaker 1: ACT Party that Health New Zealand needs to drop this 3 00:00:05,800 --> 00:00:08,719 Speaker 1: nonsense of encouraging its staff to incorporate a prayer into 4 00:00:08,720 --> 00:00:12,920 Speaker 1: their daily routine. I mean, what is this? What are 5 00:00:12,920 --> 00:00:15,680 Speaker 1: we living in the sixth century with the height of Christianity. 6 00:00:15,720 --> 00:00:20,440 Speaker 1: This is very, very, very unmodern. Now. The reason we 7 00:00:20,480 --> 00:00:22,360 Speaker 1: know about this is because the ACT Party has been 8 00:00:22,440 --> 00:00:25,240 Speaker 1: leaked in email that was sent to Health New Zealand 9 00:00:25,320 --> 00:00:29,560 Speaker 1: staff that says, we encourage everyone to incorporate karakia daily. 10 00:00:29,600 --> 00:00:32,040 Speaker 1: Cut Kia is just prayer, so we encourage everyone to 11 00:00:32,080 --> 00:00:34,800 Speaker 1: incorporate prayer daily. To help support you with this, we 12 00:00:34,920 --> 00:00:38,920 Speaker 1: have created some pre recorded videos so you can learn karakia. 13 00:00:39,520 --> 00:00:41,760 Speaker 1: Now we don't know which staff are being encouraged to 14 00:00:41,800 --> 00:00:44,160 Speaker 1: do this, which departments, but let's assume it's everyone, because 15 00:00:44,159 --> 00:00:46,720 Speaker 1: that's generally how organizations work. When they roll something like 16 00:00:46,720 --> 00:00:48,960 Speaker 1: this out right, they roll it out to absolutely everyone. 17 00:00:49,440 --> 00:00:52,559 Speaker 1: So let's assume that this also includes doctors and nurses 18 00:00:52,600 --> 00:00:55,800 Speaker 1: and surgeons and anesthetists and so on. You've been to 19 00:00:55,840 --> 00:00:58,760 Speaker 1: a hospital lately, I have these people are run off 20 00:00:58,800 --> 00:01:01,720 Speaker 1: their feet. They are so busy that patients off to 21 00:01:01,960 --> 00:01:03,600 Speaker 1: often have to wait half an hour just to get 22 00:01:03,600 --> 00:01:05,800 Speaker 1: a nurse, sometimes an hour just to get a nurse 23 00:01:05,840 --> 00:01:08,040 Speaker 1: to respond to something that they need. You want a 24 00:01:08,080 --> 00:01:11,280 Speaker 1: doctor to answer basic questions about how a patient is doing, 25 00:01:11,680 --> 00:01:13,679 Speaker 1: get them on their eight am round. And if you 26 00:01:13,680 --> 00:01:15,920 Speaker 1: don't get them on the eight am round, bloody good 27 00:01:16,000 --> 00:01:18,959 Speaker 1: luck to you. Now do we really think that people 28 00:01:19,560 --> 00:01:23,040 Speaker 1: who are madly understaffed, who are run off their feet, 29 00:01:23,080 --> 00:01:25,640 Speaker 1: who are having such a difficult time in work, also 30 00:01:26,319 --> 00:01:28,600 Speaker 1: have time now to stop and learn a prayer and 31 00:01:28,640 --> 00:01:32,160 Speaker 1: then incorporate it into their day every single day. Come on, Health, 32 00:01:32,240 --> 00:01:36,640 Speaker 1: New Zealand have some priorities. What's more is that this 33 00:01:36,720 --> 00:01:40,440 Speaker 1: is completely inappropriate in a modern world to force religion 34 00:01:40,480 --> 00:01:42,240 Speaker 1: on someone in a workplace. And that is what it is. 35 00:01:42,280 --> 00:01:43,640 Speaker 1: I mean, you can call it a cut of care, 36 00:01:43,680 --> 00:01:45,680 Speaker 1: so you can make it sound cool and fashionable and 37 00:01:45,680 --> 00:01:49,240 Speaker 1: culturally aware of whatever. But fact is that is a prayer. 38 00:01:49,520 --> 00:01:51,320 Speaker 1: A prayer is a religious act. And I say this 39 00:01:51,360 --> 00:01:54,640 Speaker 1: as someone who identifies broadly as Christian. Not cool to 40 00:01:54,720 --> 00:01:57,560 Speaker 1: force your religion on someone else. This is fundamentally, I 41 00:01:57,600 --> 00:01:59,480 Speaker 1: think one of the biggest problems with the public service 42 00:02:00,080 --> 00:02:04,280 Speaker 1: across many departments. They just find they allow themselves. They 43 00:02:04,320 --> 00:02:08,480 Speaker 1: almost desire being distracted by anything which is not their 44 00:02:08,520 --> 00:02:11,680 Speaker 1: core job so that they can seem cool and up 45 00:02:11,720 --> 00:02:13,120 Speaker 1: with the play. I mean, they just need to act 46 00:02:13,160 --> 00:02:15,080 Speaker 1: a little bit more like the private sector. Just do 47 00:02:15,120 --> 00:02:17,680 Speaker 1: your job. They don't worry about anything else. Just do 48 00:02:17,760 --> 00:02:20,160 Speaker 1: your job. If you forget about everything else, you might 49 00:02:20,160 --> 00:02:22,280 Speaker 1: actually be good at your job. You never know. Now 50 00:02:22,360 --> 00:02:25,320 Speaker 1: it's worth saying right that if you do object to this, 51 00:02:25,400 --> 00:02:28,000 Speaker 1: which I do, you have to be logically consistent, and 52 00:02:28,040 --> 00:02:29,800 Speaker 1: you have to also object to the prayer at the 53 00:02:29,800 --> 00:02:32,680 Speaker 1: start of Parliament because that is also frankly forcing religion 54 00:02:32,720 --> 00:02:35,440 Speaker 1: on people and time wasting, and I object to that 55 00:02:35,520 --> 00:02:38,320 Speaker 1: as well. That's no longer necessary. Scrap them both, but 56 00:02:39,040 --> 00:02:41,600 Speaker 1: scrap first the Health New Zealand prayer because that is 57 00:02:41,600 --> 00:02:43,960 Speaker 1: wasting the time of people whose job it literally is 58 00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:47,720 Speaker 1: to save lives. For more from Heather Duplessy Allen Drive. 59 00:02:47,880 --> 00:02:51,320 Speaker 1: Listen live to news Talks. It'd be from four pm weekdays, 60 00:02:51,400 --> 00:02:53,600 Speaker 1: or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.