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RNZ News
a day ago
- Health
- RNZ News
Dr Shane Reti: No quotas for Pacific students at new medical school
By 'Alakihihifo Vailala , PMN Photo: Supplied / Google Maps The newly-established medical school at Waikato University, the New Zealand Graduate School of Medicine, will not implement specific quotas for Pacific students, according to the Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti. But he says that the academic institution, which will begin in 2028, will prioritise under-represented communities. In an interview on Pacific Mornings , Reti says, "What they have indicated is that as part of the selection process, even though they may not have targeted pathways or quotas per se, that the selection process will take into account those areas where we are under-represented, underweighted, where we have vulnerable populations as part of that selection process. Dr Shane Reti says the academic institution, which will begin in 2028, will prioritise under-represented communities. Photo: RNZ / Nick Monro "But they have indicated in this first instance that there won't be quotas per se." His comments follow the government's announcement of the new medical school at the University of Waikato. The third medical school in the country will receive $82.85 million in government funding and over $150m from the university, most of which comes from philanthropic donations. "What I would like to see are the graduates focused and directed as much as possible towards where we have need, and those areas where we have need are general practice, rural environments," Reti says. "And then within those areas, of course, we have needs for Pasifika, we have needs for Māori, we have a range of other needs." According to the Ministry of Health, Pacific people make up 2.6 per cent, or 522, of all doctors in New Zealand. This represents a threefold increase since 2005, when there were around 131 Pacific doctors. In a related initiative, Reti announced a $4m contribution to assist Fiji in addressing a severe HIV outbreak. He says the funding will mainly support educational initiatives and boost diagnostic capabilities. "Our contribution will help them with what some would say is the most important component to HIV, that is, the education component, which will have a close association with drug use through the Pacific." Reti's comments followed discussions after the recent Pacific Islands Forum Economic Ministers' meeting in Suva, which he described as action-oriented, with clear objectives aimed at tackling regional challenges. The meeting also focused on preparations for the upcoming Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) leaders' summit in Honiara later this year. Reflecting on cultural milestones, Reti celebrated New Zealand's first-ever Bislama Language Week in Papamoa, coinciding with Vanuatu's 45th independence celebrations. He praised the significance of cultural recognition and community engagement, sharing his experiences during a diplomatic mission to Vanuatu with Foreign Minister Vaovasamanaia Winston Peters. "I've had the privilege of standing on the new wharf at Vanuatu on a diplomatic mission that I've had with Minister Peters," Reti says. "I've had the privilege of standing underneath the roof of the women's market and had the privilege of standing in the talking circle beside the Parliament, and so they were able to get a further sense of, oh, he's actually been in our home. "He's been in our place. He gets us. So it was just a wonderful event, and very excited for them." -This article was first published by PMN .
Newsroom
3 days ago
- Business
- Newsroom
Govt's AI strategy is all hype and no vision
Opinion: What have we learned about the future of artificial intelligence in New Zealand now that Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology Dr Shane Reti has released 'New Zealand's Strategy for Artificial Intelligence: Investing with confidence'? In his foreword to the recently released Strategy, Reti states: 'Until now, New Zealand was the only OECD country that had not published an AI strategy'.
NZ Herald
3 days ago
- Health
- NZ Herald
Health NZ preparing to send gynaecological cancer patients to Australia, citing specialist shortage
The plan to investigate Australian options was included in a briefing in December to Health Minister at the time, Shane Reti, about New Zealand's threadbare gynaecology oncologist staffing levels, which now mean women living between Wellington and Hawke's Bay will have to travel to Christchurch for surgery. In the paper, officials warned New Zealand has about half the number of gynaecology oncologists per capita as 'international benchmarking' suggests are required. Officials told Reti the international benchmark is for about three gynaecology oncologists per million people. To meet this benchmark, New Zealand would need 15-16 subspecialists. As of mid-November last year, there were just eight staff (or 7.5 fulltime equivalent staff). The number is going backwards. In mid-November the sole subspecialist working in Wellington resigned, leaving the system with four subspecialists working in Auckland and three in Christchurch. The briefing received by Reti detailed Health NZ's plans to deal with the shortage, particularly in Wellington. Health Minister Simeon Brown said no patients from Wellington had been sent to Australia and there were no plans to do so. Photo / Mark Mitchell According to the officials, the medium-term plan, which was made public earlier this year, is to deliver complex gynae oncology surgery in Christchurch and Auckland hospitals – although mainly Christchurch. More than 100 Wellingtonians and people from central New Zealand – the Hutt Valley, Wairarapa, MidCentral, Whanganui, Taranaki and Hawke's Bay healthcare delivery areas – needing surgery will now be flown to Christchurch. Most women will not need to travel, and will instead be seen by a specialist who will fly up from Christchurch to Wellington regularly for clinics. Brown appears to have pushed back on this plan, which initially did not envisage a return of these services to Wellington in the next five years. Brown said he was 'not satisfied with the current level of access to gynaecology oncologists in New Zealand, and strengthening recruitment is essential to addressing this'. 'This is key to strengthening access to gynaecological oncology services in Wellington, which I have made clear to Health New Zealand must be a priority,' Brown said. Doctor burnout risks South Island services, leaving NZ with patchy gynaecology oncology south of Hawke's Bay Officials noted the plan to treat these patients elsewhere has 'some risk' because getting Christchurch doctors to pick up the work of Wellington was 'dependent on the goodwill and ability of the three Christchurch gynae oncologists to carry a significantly increased workload alongside travel and time away from their whānau'. They already have a full workload in Christchurch, the officials said. Both they and their clinical and managerial leadership in Christchurch are clear that if the workload and additional travel puts any of the gynae oncologists at risk of overwork or burnout, it would 'put the service for Te Wai Pounamu [South Island] at risk as well'. The Cancer Society's medical director, Kate Gregory, who works in oncology giving chemotherapy and drug treatments to women with gynaecological cancers, told the Herald the system was being held together by the 'dedication of gynae oncologists who are working in this country'. 'They're working way above what their time allows – they're seeing more patients and doing more surgeries. It's really only due to the dedication of them that things have kept going as they have for as long as they have.' Back-up plan: Australia and service rationing Officials warned that if the plan to cover Wellington's workforce shortage failed, 'the fallback position will likely include having to send patients to Australia for surgery'. Health NZ was 'investigating the practicalities and likely costs of this to ensure we are prepared for this contingency'. Officials said it might be appropriate to consider centralising the national waiting list and consider 'rationing of services' in the short term 'to ensure that scarce specialist gynaecology oncology resources are focused on high-risk cases for appropriate management within recommended timeframes'. Eight trainees went to Australia – only one returned to NZ The long-term health of these services will mean training a domestic workforce. This has been a challenge. The relatively small number of training places in New Zealand meant it was difficult to create a future workforce, officials told Reti. Currently, New Zealand-trained doctors undertake some of their training in Australia, but this was also causing problems. There is high demand for gynaecologist oncologists in Australia, causing most trainees to stay. 'Of the last eight trainees who have been New Zealand trained, only one has stayed in a fulltime role in New Zealand, with the others all accepting roles in Australia,' officials said. Gregory told the Herald that sending people overseas for training could be difficult if the trainee has a young family or a partner who is tied to New Zealand for their work. Gregory said that as conditions became more difficult for the existing workforce, it becomes harder to recruit new people. 'When you've got a service under stress, it's not that attractive for people to come and work in it. They can see people working really hard and the on-call commitments are really onerous. That makes it difficult to recruit people from outside, because they can see what it's really like,' she said. Other concerns raised by officials include that surgery performed by the subspecialists was 'physically demanding, leading to back problems for some surgeons, increasing the risks of sick leave or early retirement in this workforce'. They also said that overseas, it was becoming increasingly common to perform surgery 'using robotics'. This created a skills mismatch with New Zealand, where most surgery was still being done using more traditional techniques. 'This means that internationally trained surgeons may not have the required level of experience of surgical techniques required in the New Zealand sites which do not have access to this robotic technology,' the officials warned. Labour health spokeswoman Ayesha Verrall said patients deserved better. Photo / Mark Mitchell Labour's health spokeswoman Ayesha Verrall, a former Minister of Health, said it was a 'a huge blow for women's health that there is no gynaecological cancer specialist in Wellington'. 'New Zealand's women deserve better than this. Cervical cancer, ovarian and endometrial cancers are common cancers and women should be able to be treated in this city, just like people with other cancers can be. 'Rather than planning to send women to Australia as a fall-back option, the minister should direct officials to attract our trainee surgeons back from Australia. 'Everyone should be able to stay healthy and get care when they need it – close to home, without the cost or the wait. Unfortunately, Luxon's cuts have hurt our health system, our doctors and nurses are stressed and it's harder and more expensive to get the healthcare we all deserve," she said. Government inherited workforce shortage – Brown Brown said the Labour Government's restructuring of the health system, merging the old district health boards into Health NZ, had distracted that Government from workforce issues. 'The previous Government left the health system in a state of uncertainty, focused on bureaucratic restructuring instead of recruiting the doctors and specialists we need. 'As a result, long-standing challenges like recruiting a gynaecological oncologist in Wellington were left unaddressed,' he said. Brown said he had 'requested further advice to ensure that New Zealand does not have unnecessary barriers to entry for specialised doctors'. 'The Medical Council of New Zealand does not allow separate scopes of practice, including for gynaecological oncology. 'That means that Specialist International Medical Graduates are not recognised for their subspeciality expertise,' he said. 'Since taking office, we've taken action – investing more into the health workforce, hiring over 2100 additional nurses, 600 more doctors, and growing the number of obstetricians and gynaecologists across the country," he said.
Scoop
24-07-2025
- Health
- Scoop
New Investment To Drive AI And Biotech Innovation
Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology The Government is investing $24 million in smart, practical science that will help New Zealanders live healthier lives and support the development of sustainable food industries. Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Dr Shane Reti today announced two major research programmes in partnership with Singapore, focusing on artificial intelligence (AI) tools for healthy ageing and biotechnology for future food production. 'Science and innovation are critical to building a high-growth, high-value economy. That's why we're investing in research with a clear line of sight to commercial outcomes and real public benefit,' Dr Reti says. 'This Government is focused on backing the technologies that will deliver real-world results for New Zealanders – not just in the lab, but in our hospitals, homes, and businesses. 'Whether it's supporting older Kiwis to live well for longer or developing smarter food production systems, these projects are about practical applications of advanced science to solve problems and grow our economy.' Funded through the Catalyst Fund, designed to facilitate international collaboration, the investment will support seven joint research projects over the next three years, deepening New Zealand's research ties with Singapore and building capability in AI and biotechnology. The AI programme, delivered alongside AI Singapore, directly supports the Government's Artificial Intelligence Strategy – a plan to use AI to safely and effectively boost productivity and deliver better public services. 'Our AI Strategy is about encouraging the uptake of AI to improve productivity and realise its potential to deliver faster, smarter, and more personalised services, including in healthcare,' says Dr Reti. 'These projects will help develop tools that support clinicians and improve care for our ageing population. Our collaboration with Singapore, a country well advanced in their use and development of AI, will help grow Kiwi capability to explore future practical uses of AI.' The biotechnology programme will focus on turning scientific research into scalable food solutions, including alternative proteins and new food ingredients, in partnership with Singapore's A*STAR. 'These partnerships are about future-proofing our economy and our communities — tackling global challenges with New Zealand science at the forefront,' Dr Reti says.
NZ Herald
18-07-2025
- Politics
- NZ Herald
Empowering youth voices is crucial for NZ's future
Some of the 143 youth who travelled to Wellington for Youth Parliament. One-hundred and forty-three youth travelled to Wellington for Youth Parliament from July 1-2. This included 123 Youth MPs and 20 Youth Press Gallery. The energy was electric! Chelsea Reti, born and raised in the Far North, mokopuna o Te Aho Matua, stood as my Youth MP. Reti, with our other tai tamariki (youth) of the North, came with their heritage, their culture and their communities, ready to participate and share their unique northern perspectives. In Youth Parliament our representatives participated in working groups akin to select committees, addressing issues such as gambling harm, sport and recreation, te reo Māori and other critical systems and issues facing Aotearoa. For Reti, it was retirement income. These are important issues in our communities today and will be in the future. As our youth shared many times in Youth Parliament, today's decisions will be inherited tomorrow. Our Youth MPs also had the opportunity to ask questions of ministers and make general debate speeches in the House. For Reti, it was a question to Minister Louise Upston on the issue of child poverty, asking what measures the Government is taking to reduce child poverty in our communities – something very relevant for the Far North and rural communities. There was a lot of coverage in the media of Youth Parliament, where our youth expressed concerns at the feelings of being censored in their general debate speeches. In liaison with officials and our youth, it was important to highlight the desire for our young people to express themselves authentically but also maintain safety, as matters such as privilege do not apply in Youth Parliament. The general debate speeches were fiery, passionate and on point, which brought local issues into national thinking.
