Campaign blog - 15 October - Rt Hon John Key

24 Comments
15 October 2008
Campaign blog - 15 October

On the campaign trail in Auckland yesterday I revealed the measures National will take to provide a better standard of care to pregnant women, new mothers and their babies.

John Key, Paula Bennett and Katrina Shanks deliver Nationals Maternity Policy during a Mum's coffee morning at the Packing Shed in Waitakere I believe Labour hasn't done a good job over the last nine years with maternity care, which is in something of a crisis.

I want to see better maternity services that give safe and high-quality care to pregnant women, young mothers, and their babies.

We not only have to make the most of existing resources, but we also have to invest more, which is what our policy proposes.

One of the most important things we can do is provide some more funding so mothers are not forced to go home a few hours after birth.

This is a particularly important time for mothers, their newborn children, and their families, and new mothers shouldn't have to feel forced into going home before they are ready.

We will also ensure that every new mother and baby will have weekly contact with a health professional for the first nine weeks after birth.

Something I was particularly proud to announce yesterday was our commitment to reversing Labour's cancelled funding of PlunketLine.

This means that parents will now have access to a 24-hour Plunket service.

We've also recognised the workforce crisis in midwifery with our plan to offer a voluntary bonding scheme. This will mean that new midwives who agree to work in hard-to-staff areas for three to five years after graduation get student loan writeoffs.

We believe that this will help improve the dire staffing situation in some areas.

John Key

Posted by admin in Newsletter Trackbacks: (0)

Trackbacks

Trackback specific URI for this entry

No Trackbacks

Comments

Display comments as (Linear | Threaded)

#1 - Jack McFaull 2008-10-15 12:14 - (Reply)

John, Last night you finally became the Leader. You took the usual sneering H3jelen by surprise. I was thrilled Great win Jack

#2 - Sarah Walker 2008-10-15 12:16 - (Reply)

Fantastic move! I am no yet a mother myself, but have friends who have needed to call over 20 midwifes to find someone be their LMC. A good decision to include Midwives in the Loan writeoffs, as they earn less than doctors, much harder to make a dent in these after training

#3 - Peter Tucker 2008-10-15 12:23 - (Reply)

Brilliant John! Mid wives have been a great concern in recent years. We lost a grandchild as an indirect result of an incompetent midwife. New mothers have been bundled out of hospital totally in the dark as to what to do and how to go about looking after the new baby. Frustrations from this can lead to child abuse when they don't know what is happening or who to ask.

#4 - Anne 2008-10-15 12:28 - (Reply)

CONGRATULATIONS ON YOU PERFORMANCE LAST EVENING. ALL YOU ANSWERS WERE BACKED UP WITH STATS WHEREAS HELEN COULD ONLY REFER TO EMOTIVE ISSUES. YOUR CONFIDENCE AND SELF BELIEF REALLY CAME TO THE FORE, WHILST CONFUSING HELEN WITH NUMBERS WAS LAUGHABLE!

#5 - Janene Forlong 2008-10-15 12:39 - (Reply)

You did well last night John. One of the things I would like to see you tackle is the fact that Labour has disabled families in the last nine years by introducing civl unions, legalising prostitution and by removing parents rights to discipline among other things. The traditional nuclear family needs support in NZ from the top down. No-ones can deny the fact that children get the best care in a traditional family with Mum and Dad.

#6 - The O'Brien's 2008-10-15 12:47 - (Reply)

After last night our opinion has changed considerably. without lowering yourself to Clark's level we feel you made a great impact and I am sure this will carry you through to victory on the 8th Nov. We think you will appeal to the average sensible kiwi person who does not think what is in it for me,rather what is good for the country. keep up the good work John Key and your team.

#7 - Tania Smith 2008-10-15 12:48 - (Reply)

hi john i loved the way it went last night. you looked really good. one thing i have a severlly handicapped child. there isn't much out there in the way of help for us parents bringing up these speacil angels. it would be good if for the first time a party was focused on this issue as well. theres thousands of us parents out there wanting help with our severally handcapped children. hope you add this to your campain. thanks

#8 - Andrew Atkin said:
2008-10-15 13:01 - (Reply)

Good stuff. To me, young babies are the most important social sector - that's where "getting it right" is most improtant for individuals and society. Anothing thing to look at is the homebirthing debate i.e. which is better? This in my opinion is a nonsense debate, because it doesn't need to exist: you can have homestyle birthing in a hospitals, with the hospital providing immediate medical assistance when needed, and only if needed. Drugs and tense mothers do nothing for the welbeing of the baby (as they in part help to induce birthing problems), with consequences for the baby sometimes profound. I think we should also give mothers a lot more 'birthing choice'. It would cost virtually nothing compared to the advantages.

#9 - Karen Shepherd 2008-10-15 13:03 - (Reply)

Is anybody else finding it impossible to open the National.org.nz without crashing their server? I have tried it on Mozilla Firefox and Internet Explorer a number of times and am not able to open that page. Can others please check this out? [Admin UPDATE: This error is the result of attempting to navigate to https://national.org.nz - which doesn't exist and so has no security certificate]

#10 - Barbara Fisher 2008-10-15 13:05 - (Reply)

Well done last night John. I was starting to get a wee bit concerned about how the campaign was going but you nailed Helen last night. You were obviously prepared for the way she continually talks over people. One thing though, you should have a word with TVOne, that if they are going to have so called experts discussing the debate afterwards, they could at least get your surname right. McCarten continually referred to you as 'Keys'. Keep up the good work.

#11 - Les Sweetman 2008-10-15 13:08 - (Reply)

Well done last night!! You stood up to her bullying, but did not stoop to her level. Great policy re Plunket. Cannot understand socialists doing what they did, unless being over-ruled by radical feminists. Good idea re bonding of midwives, why not do it for Doctors and Teachers??? Keep emphasising self responsibility for actions, while helping people to become self sufficient and self reliant.["Teach a man to fish" principle]

#12 - Clive Brumby 2008-10-15 13:15 - (Reply)

Great work John. What a fantastic night last night for you and the party. One thing I would like see addressed is the fact that our birth death rates have increased considerably in recent years which has been put down to home births. I would like to see more encouragement for midwives to be part of the hospital system and work within the hospitals where all resources are available if they are needed. Some of the midwives who practice privately seem to be hell bent on home births and delay additional help if things go wrong.... But what would I know, I am a mere male. BTW I don't know why you were talking to my Granddaughter, (NZ Herald P5, 15/10), she's too young to vote! Clive

#13 - Bryan Frost 2008-10-15 13:17 - (Reply)

agree about the idea of bonding midwives(and interns);however 2 years wouid be adequate after graduation. I am GP of 39 years experience. A prev government Should never have allowed the M/W's to domate obstetrics!!!!!!!!! Well done John in the debate.Come hone.National!

#14 - Steve Utuaonga 2008-10-15 13:27 - (Reply)

Awesome display on TV John , Helens girls (includes Dr Cullen) are moving out. How come we were told at last years Labour Govt budget there was a 6-8 billion $ surplus?? and the cupboard is now bare with less than a year gone. whose telling us "porkys?" Regardless - we want you there and also hope we dont share govt with those loony lefty's from the 'Green mob' and Jim Anderton geriatric policies

#15 - Nicky 2008-10-15 13:39 - (Reply)

You were great last night, John. Keep up the good work. We need you to take over the reins urgently.

#16 - Ken Jack 2008-10-15 14:34 - (Reply)

Good work with the Maternity Bill .... Bring back Plunket I say. Well done , John , last night .. you slayed the surly dragon. What a turnaround !

#17 - Rachel 2008-10-15 14:51 - (Reply)

Congratulations on last night's debate - you had us smiling from start to finish. A wonderful effort, and we look forward to welcoming you as our new PM on 8 November.

#18 - james Steele 2008-10-15 15:45 - (Reply)

well done last night John! can you not do somthing to help the students with their loans, remember, it probably cost us winning the last election? dont forget to mention you have a great depth of elected candidates apart from your front bench who Helen continually scoffs at!

#19 - Karen 2008-10-15 16:21 - (Reply)

Congratulations on an excellent debate last night. Your vision for an aspirational NZ gives me goosebumps. Enough of the academic theory and socialist ideas. We are a small country and WE DO have the ability to punch above our weight with the right government in power. I believe this is because of our people and ability to adapt quickly to technology, cut red tape etc. Plunketline and Midwife care for the first nine weeks for Mothers/caregivers is an excellent idea - lets invest in our families and also help identify those children in our society who are at risk, whilst also giving care and attention to the brave souls who enter into parenthood! Grandparents are working and families are disintergrating - first time Mothers require education and assistance no matter what their background.

#20 - Alison Wormald 2008-10-15 17:30 - (Reply)

Hi John, I also thought you came across really well on TV last night. I am however concerned about your comments on maternity services. I have been a practising Midwife for 24 years. I work out of a group practice in Glen Innes, I have delivered over a thousand local children and am well known and respected in my community. Our group has good relationships with local GP's, obstetricians and the wider maternity workforce, the story that no one wants to hear. I am concerned that you think that giving GP's more money for antenatal and postnatal care will somehow support the midwifery workforce. What it will mean is that Midwives who provide 24 hour/7 day a week service will be paid less. I am confident that the GP's will not be interested in providing this essential part of maternity care. GP's have never provided postnatal care, this is provided by midwives who are currently home visiting for 4-6 weeks after the birth. What I would like as a LMC MIdwife is some job security. The maternity service has been reviewed many times, the recent consumer survey showed that 90% of women were very happy with the care they received. New Zealand has an excellent maternity system. Unfortunately there has always been some sad outcomes, babies have died under medical care but this never excites the media to the same extent as when there is a mishap with a midwifery case. How can I as a Midwife vote for the National Party when I have no confidence that you understand or value the great job that most hardworking Midwives nationwide do on a daily and nightly basis. Regards Alison Wormald

#21 - Michael 2008-10-15 17:52 - (Reply)

Hi John, I switched to another TV channel last night as this was not a real debate. The talking over each other, lack of respect from both you toward each each other was a real turn off. So much for being role models. The US Presidentail debates are real debates and have a higher tone and definately more substance. Both of you need to get your act together. The policies re Plunket and midwives are to be supported, however your current views on ACC and R&D tax gets the definate thumbs down. Big swings and changes on these are BAD for business and business confidence which is the last thing we need right now.

#22 - Steve 2008-10-15 20:19 - (Reply)

Well done John, totally support you Will be a great day, like the sun shining through the dark clouds when National become government once again..... Steve

#23 - john Brady 2008-10-15 21:40 - (Reply)

good on ya John well done Im with you all the way keep up the sensable clean approach j-b

#23.1 - Brian & Anita Davies 2008-10-16 15:24 - (Reply)

Yes, we agree with John Brady. Your calm, sensible approach is to be commended. Labour have had it to good for too long and they have feathered their own nests most handsomely. We have had it with Helen and the nanny state. We have worked hard all our lives and I have worked 3 jobs at once. We don't need her totell us how to run our lives and also that shower business is a real mistake. Look how hard they are back-pedalling. They know it was a mistake but we have long memories.

Add Comment

Name
Email
Homepage
In reply to
Comment	E-Mail addresses will not be displayed and will only be used for E-Mail notifications To prevent automated Bots from commentspamming, please enter the string you see in the image below in the appropriate input box. Your comment will only be submitted if the strings match. Please ensure that your browser supports and accepts cookies, or your comment cannot be verified correctly. Enter the string from the spam-prevention image above:
	Remember Information? Subscribe to this entry
Submitted comments will be subject to moderation before being displayed.