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Speaker 1: The Prime Minister has turfed out his health qualified. Health

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Speaker 1: Minister Shane Retty is gone. Simeon Brown is in this

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Speaker 1: based off his performance as Transport and Local Government Minister.

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Speaker 1: Simeon Brown, the new Health Minister, is with me this morning. Minister.

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Speaker 1: Congratulations or I guess commiserations, depending on how you look

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Speaker 1: at it.

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Speaker 2: Thank you appreciate that.

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Speaker 1: Lester Levy. Are you going to keep him on?

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Speaker 2: Oh? Look, I'm meeting with him this morning. He's coming

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Speaker 2: down to We're meeting Wellington. I'm heading down there now.

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Speaker 2: He's been brought in to do a job, which is

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Speaker 2: to make sure that we get a health system delivering.

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Speaker 2: That's my focus as mister making sure it's delivering quality

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Speaker 2: and timely access to health caref all New Zealanders. That's

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Speaker 2: the focus that I've been given from the Prime Minister

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Speaker 2: and that's what I'll be making very clear to doctor Lester.

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Speaker 1: So it's not making the progress you need right now.

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Speaker 1: Does that mean that he's gone too Well?

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Speaker 2: I think what we've seen from the health targets which

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Speaker 2: doctor Shane ready brought back in, we are starting to

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Speaker 2: see some of those things Stave liners. But there is

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Speaker 2: so much more work to do. So we need to

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Speaker 2: see New Zealand's getting through ed's emergence departments faster access

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Speaker 2: to their GPS sooner. Elective wait times have started to reduce,

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Speaker 2: but we need to see those reduced a lot further.

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Speaker 2: So those are the priorities I've got as Minister of

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Speaker 2: Health and that's what I'll be focused with it. Where

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Speaker 2: it's the Ministry of Health with its Health New Zealand,

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Speaker 2: when you have whole system.

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Speaker 1: Delivering, do you have confidence in him to do that?

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Speaker 2: Look are we meeting with doctor Lester Leby. He's been

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Speaker 2: given a job, he is in that job to them

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Speaker 2: this year. But I need the whole system to be

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Speaker 2: focused on delivery. That is going to be the simple

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Speaker 2: and clear message. Whether it's the Ministry of Health, Health

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Speaker 2: New Zealand, the whole system focused on delivery for all

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Speaker 2: New Zealanders.

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Speaker 1: Does you don't pick the heads of to futter order

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Speaker 1: or the ministry itself? He does? Do you want him?

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Speaker 1: Will you put pressure on him to make changes at

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Speaker 1: the top there?

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Speaker 2: Well, there is change happening regardless of my understanding. Is

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Speaker 2: the term of the current Chief Executive of Health New

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Speaker 2: Zealand is coming to an end shortly they're going through

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Speaker 2: a recruitment process. Yes, that'll be one of the things

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Speaker 2: that we'll be discussing today. I want to make sure

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Speaker 2: that the people leading that organization are ruthlessly focused on

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Speaker 2: delivery and all those targets this government has has set

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Speaker 2: and New Zealanders can get access to quality and timely healthcare.

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Speaker 2: That's what they need, That's what I want. What about that,

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Speaker 2: I want the people.

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Speaker 1: In charge of doing What about Marjorie Order.

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Speaker 2: Well, her term means are shortly and they are going

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Speaker 2: to a recruitment for for a new CE and we'll

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Speaker 2: be talking about that with doctors Levy later day.

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Speaker 1: The Waikato Medical School gone by lunchtime.

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Speaker 2: Oh, look, there's a lot of issues. I haven't been

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Speaker 2: fully briefed. I'm heading to Wellington now that are we

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Speaker 2: One of the issues will be getting up to speed

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Speaker 2: with overcoming weeks. There's big cabinet decisions that will be

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Speaker 2: made and once those decisions are made, we will be

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Speaker 2: announcing those. But look, a lot of issues I need

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Speaker 2: to get my head around and stay focused and get

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Speaker 2: really focused on. But number one focus is making sure

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Speaker 2: all New Zealanders can access to that quality and time

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Speaker 2: healthcare that they need.

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Speaker 1: Have you spoken to Shane?

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Speaker 2: Yes, I did. I had a good chat to doctor Shane.

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Speaker 2: You so we're actually really good friends. I have a

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Speaker 2: huge amount of respect for him. He's worked incredibly hard

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Speaker 2: and diligently in this portfolio, put in places of foundations.

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Speaker 2: But now we need to really focus on delivery and

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Speaker 2: h he's a ready committed to making sure he works

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Speaker 2: to give me a good handover as well, which I

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Speaker 2: really appreciate.

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Speaker 1: I'm hearing a lot of your back benches are getting

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Speaker 1: a bit angsty with Luxeon that they're starting to talk

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Speaker 1: and talk quite loudly. What's your message to them after that,

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Speaker 1: particularly after that pole that had you in the twenties.

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Speaker 2: Well, look, not at all. I think the reality is

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Speaker 2: where as a team, the whole caucus is focused on delivery.

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Speaker 2: When the Zealanders that's what we're focused on. It's what

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Speaker 2: you said reshuffles about making sure we're focus on economic growth,

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Speaker 2: getting public and getting healthcare on track. Focus on delivery.

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Speaker 2: That's this year and it's all about and the Prime

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Speaker 2: Minister is very clear and that message comes from the

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Speaker 2: top and all the way down and holds things focused

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Speaker 2: on that.

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Speaker 1: Unions they're going to be your big battle, your real

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Speaker 1: big battle, and they insist as a hiring freezon the

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Speaker 1: hospital sector right now is there.

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Speaker 2: Look I haven't met fully briefed, but ve all say, Look,

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Speaker 2: I'm not a union organization organizer, I'm not from the sector.

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Speaker 2: I'm just focused on making sure New Zealanders can get

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Speaker 2: access to the timely, quality health care that they need.

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Speaker 2: That's my focus. Those are the conversations I'm having with

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Speaker 2: unions when we meet at some point. You know, how

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Speaker 2: can we make sure New Zealanders can get access to

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Speaker 2: the quality and timely health care that they need. That's

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Speaker 2: the number one focus and the whole system needs to

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Speaker 2: be focused on that.

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Speaker 1: All right, minister, thank you very much for your time.

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Speaker 1: That is the new Health Minister, Simeon Brown. It's not

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Speaker 1: an easy job. It's probably the hardest ministry in government.

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Speaker 1: You've got eighty thousand employees that work for TOFATO order.

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Speaker 1: Did you know how many employees it is? That is

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Speaker 1: more than Fletcher's woolworst from Terror, the warehouse in New

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Speaker 1: Zealand and Kmart combined, and most of them are union members.

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Speaker 1: It's an absolute nightmare, especially for a national MP. So

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Speaker 1: good luck, I mean there's a lot of work to do,

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Speaker 1: so I he'll be getting stuck in This morning, he said,

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Speaker 1: it's meeting with Lester Levy. For more from the mic

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