Government signs another under-the-radar treaty

Government signs another under-the-radar treaty

The Government has signed another trade treaty that will affect health in New Zealand. The New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) is concerned that New Zealanders have had no say at all on the content of the Government Procurement Agreement deal, and that it has the potential to impact significantly on the health sector.

The agreement will require most (but oddly, not all) DHBs to treat overseas providers as favourably as local providers for major purchases. That’s a problem because it means that DHBs will no longer be able to use New Zealand services or contractors as their first preference.

And it may also mean that DHBs don’t have a say about health and safety standards of overseas procured services, or that they are not able to exclude suppliers who also deal in products such as tobacco.

The Government has not allowed any public scrutiny of the deal, and yet again New Zealanders’ health and well-being are put a distant second behind big business.

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