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| Health Select Committee (New Zealand Parliament) | |
|---|---|
| Name | Health Select Committee |
| Legislature | New Zealand Parliament |
| Chamber | House of Representatives of New Zealand |
| Type | Select committee |
| Jurisdiction | Health, Disability, and related legislation |
| Established | 19th century (evolving) |
| Members | MPs from multiple parties |
Health Select Committee (New Zealand Parliament) The Health Select Committee is a standing select committee of the New Zealand Parliament's House of Representatives of New Zealand that examines legislation, conducts inquiries, and monitors matters relating to health, disability, and related policy. It reports to the Speaker of the House of Representatives of New Zealand and influences debate in the New Zealand Parliament by advising on bills, petitions, and departmental performance. The committee's work intersects with national institutions such as the Ministry of Health (New Zealand), PHARMAC, and entities across the Auckland District Health Board, Capital and Coast District Health Board, and other district health boards prior to their replacement by Te Whatu Ora.
The committee traces its antecedents to early parliamentary scrutiny bodies that paralleled developments in public administration, including reforms associated with the Reform Party (New Zealand), the Labour Party (New Zealand), and policy shifts under cabinets such as the Fourth Labour Government of New Zealand and the Fifth Labour Government of New Zealand. Its remit covers statutory instruments, bills such as the Subsidy (Vaccination)-style public health measures, inquiries into institutions like Auckland Hospital, and oversight of agencies including Worksafe New Zealand when health intersections arise. It scrutinises appointments and conducts inquiries similar to reviews carried out by bodies like the Royal Commission on Social Policy and the Health and Disability Commissioner.
Membership comprises members of the New Zealand Parliament drawn from parties represented in the House of Representatives of New Zealand including the New Zealand National Party, New Zealand Labour Party, ACT New Zealand, Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand, and New Zealand First. Chairs have included MPs with portfolios touching on health, linked historically to figures who served in cabinets like the Clark Ministry and Key Ministry. The committee liaises with officials from the Minister of Health (New Zealand), engages with leaders such as past ministers from the Hipkins Ministry or the Ardern Ministry, and collaborates with parliamentary entities like the Privy Council-style advisory panels and the Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives.
Under Standing Orders of the New Zealand Parliament, the committee has powers to consider bills, examine petitions, and scrutinise the expenditure and performance of the Ministry of Health (New Zealand), Crown entities like Pharmac (PHARMAC), and state services including Health New Zealand (Te Whatu Ora). It can take evidence from witnesses such as representatives from Auckland University of Technology, University of Otago, Massey University, clinician bodies like the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners, the New Zealand Medical Association, and advocacy groups exemplified by Age Concern New Zealand and Cancer Society of New Zealand. The committee issues reports to the House of Representatives of New Zealand and may recommend amendments to landmark statutes analogous to the Medicines Act 1981 or reforms comparable to the Smoking Cessation Strategy.
The committee receives submissions from organisations such as World Health Organization delegations, nongovernmental bodies like Chartered Society of Physiotherapy equivalents, unions including New Zealand Nurses Organisation, and iwi authorities such as Ngāi Tahu or Ngāti Porou when matters involve tangata whenua. It advertises calls for written submissions, schedules oral hearings in venues ranging from Parliament Buildings to regional sites like Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin, and issues interim and final reports modeled on review practices seen in inquiries like the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Pike River Coal Mine Tragedy. Processes follow precedents from past select committee inquiries into public health crises reminiscent of reviews after events connected to COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand.
Notable work includes inquiries into pandemic preparedness reflecting lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand, investigations into mental health reforms paralleling recommendations from the Mental Health Inquiry 2018, reviews of pharmaceutical funding akin to debates involving PHARMAC, and scrutiny of disability support systems similar to the Enabling Good Lives initiative. Reports have addressed issues in aged care referenced against standards from Health and Disability Commissioner Act-style frameworks, maternity services reforms related to practice at institutions like Middlemore Hospital, and responses to controversies involving facilities such as Wellington Hospital.
The committee engages with a wide range of stakeholders including district health boards prior to their consolidation into Te Whatu Ora, statutory bodies such as Health Quality & Safety Commission (New Zealand), Crown Research Institutes like the Institute of Environmental Science and Research and universities including University of Auckland. It consults consumer groups like Health Consumers' Council, professional regulators such as the Medical Council of New Zealand, and international partners including delegations from Australia's Department of Health (Australia) and organisations like World Health Organization.
Critiques have addressed perceived delays in responding to public health crises similar to criticisms leveled after inquiries like reviews of the Pike River Mine disaster and debates over transparency akin to controversies during major inquiries in the Canterbury Earthquake Royal Commission. Reform proposals have called for strengthening resourcing, widening expert engagement similar to models used by the Royal Commission on the Pike River Coal Mine Tragedy, and enhancing Māori participation drawing on treaty-centred reforms inspired by the Waitangi Tribunal and policies of the Climate Change Commission.
Category:New Zealand select committees