No Waiting Lists For Veterinary Care

Policy Release Health

No waiting lists for veterinary care

A survey published in the NZ Herald today shows that health and education are two of the top three concerns in this election - "as they are every election, and with very good reason," says Libertarianz deputy Dr. Richard McGrath. He says it is no coincidence at all that health and education are both run by government, and that health and education concerns everyone: "People should really draw the obvious conclusion from this - that governments are simply unable to manage health and education without making a mess of them! There are no waiting lists for veterinary care when your pet is sick, yet we put up with state hospital waiting lists for sick children. Now," asks McGrath, "which one of these two services is run by Nanny State, and which is fully privatised?"

Releasing his party's policy on health, McGrath, a Wairarapa GP and his party's spokesman to deregulate health, says that "under government control we have 'die-while-you-wait' hospitals, and underpaid teachers in underperforming factory schools. If government ran vet clinics I have no doubt we would see exactly the same thing - waiting lists, strikes and incompetence."

McGrath says his party's policy on health will take the management of health right out of the incompetent hands of government, and put it back where it belongs. "We will progressively remove the state from all involvement in medicine allowing providers of all forms of prevention, treatment and therapy to compete in an open marketplace. 'Die-while-you-wait' state hospitals will be given back to their communities to manage as they see fit. This transfer will be quite literal, with real ownership transferred in the form of shares. Further, significant tax relief will leave money in your pocket to spend for your own and your family's health care as they see fit."

LIBERTARIANZ HEALTH POLICY

Based on simple libertarian principles:

- voluntary contractual agreements should be upheld through enforcement of the rule of just laws;

- individuals should be left free to spend their own money on whatever level of health care they wish to purchase.

Policy platform in brief:

- full privatisation of the health industry, with ownership of state medical facilities transferred to the communities who use them and the professionals who actually run them;

- abolition of the centralised control of health services, educational facilities and professional bodies;

- encourage competition in the provision of health services to lower cost and increase quality of service.

Policy detail:

- implement radical tax reform to give all New Zealanders the option of managing their own health budget;

- phase in user-pays and charitable funding of state hospitals; phase out government funding and interference;

- user-pays, philanthropic, corporate or other private funding of health-related training centres (e.g. universities);

- de-license medical professionals and break the 'boys-club' monopoly; allow self-regulation by voluntary bodies (e.g. Medical Association, Nurses' Organisation);

- encourage open immigration of health professionals, in order to bust protective monopolistic behaviour within medical sub-specialties, ensure more open competition and spur local training centres to increase the quality of their graduates;

- medical subsidies to be provided by charities, co-operatives trade unions, friendly societies and insurance companies; not by the forcible redistribution of assets and wealth from their rightful owners.

There are no waiting lists for veterinary care when your pet is sick - yet we put up with state hospital waiting lists for sick children. Now, which one of these two services is run by Nanny State, and which is fully privatised?

VOTE LIBERTARIANZ - in Wellington Central, Tauranga, Hamilton West, Whangarei and New Plymouth

ENDS

Dr Richard McGrath General Practitioner, Masterton Deputy Leader, Libertarianz Phone 025 2300 868 Fax 06 377 3070 mongrel@contact.net.nz http://www.libertarianz.org.nz

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