工党领袖 大卫谢尔 （David Shearer）：国家党突然作出决定要让新西兰人为医疗服务，证实了他们无能管理经济的失败。

增加医疗服务费用是把负担压到最无力承担的人群身上。在国人遭遇食品、电力、汽油、教育等基本生活需要的物价飞涨的同时，增加医疗费用是雪上加霜。

国家党已经砍掉了预防保健方面的资助而使一些非常好的公共医疗项目陷于困境。现在他们又要提高处方药费。

这么做可能使更多人不及时拿药治疗，直至病情延误而最终花费更多。

从经济学的角度来看这么做毫无意义，也不利于新西兰的国民健康。

如此做法也极不公平――这意味着普通的新西兰人在为政府经济管理的失误买单。

新西兰的经济成长是50年来历届政府执政的纪录中最差的。9年的时间里我们会看到国家党所谓零预算案的恶果。

他们挖东墙补西墙，从一个地方砍掉经费去填补其他经费更严重匮乏的设施，玩的是歪曲真相欺瞒公众的把戏。

炒冷饭、回锅馊主意――如让使用者付费是前国家党总理珍妮•希普利使的手段――根本就是走上一条没有未来的回头路。

国家党没有丝毫前瞻的思路。他们已经与时代脱节了。

David   
SHEARER
Labour Leader                      

15 May 2012                                                                   MEDIA STATEMENT
 
User pays plan confirms National’s failure
National’s sudden decision to force Kiwis to pay more for health services is affirmation that it has failed to properly manage the economy or create growth, says Labour Leader David Shearer.
"Increasing charges for health care puts the burden on those who can least afford it. It comes at a time when Kiwis are also being hit with price hikes for food, power, petrol, education and other basic costs of living.
"National has slashed preventative health care funding and put some great public health care programmes at risk. It is now putting up prescription charges.
“The result of that is likely to be more people choosing not to pick up their medications and more spending down the track on treatment when they become seriously ill,” David Shearer said.
"It doesn’t make economic sense and it’s not good for the health and wellbeing of New Zealanders.
“It is also unfair – it means ordinary New Zealanders are picking up the tab for National’s economic mismanagement.
"Economic growth is the worst it’s been under any New Zealand government in 50 years. We’ll see the result of that in nine days’ time when National delivers its so-called zero Budget.
“It will be a game of smoke and mirrors, where money is shuffled between services so that cuts in one area are used to pay for other services that have been starved of funding.
"Recycling stale old ideas - increasing user-charges was a Jenny Shipley ploy - is simply going back to no future.
“National has no forward-looking ideas. It is out of step with the times,” said David Shearer.