Latest news with #ToddStephenson
Scoop
13 hours ago
- Health
- Scoop
Move To Bolster Health Services With Private Care Welcomed, Could Go Further
The Health Minister has directed Health NZ to offer private hospitals 10-year contracts for elective surgeries. ACT Health spokesperson Todd Stephenson welcomes this, and says the approach could be taken further: "This is good news for patients, and for the taxpayer. "ACT has always championed government partnering with the private sector on health. The attitude of politicians should be 'whatever gets the job done, for a fair price', not 'how can we prop up the bureaucracy'. "When private hospitals have long-term certainty of revenue, they can have the confidence to invest in more staff and equipment. This means Kiwis get treated faster, and it increases the total capacity of our health system. Private hospitals can pick up the slack when the public system is backed up with more urgent care. "We could go further. We could contract out more diagnostic procedures like endoscopies, colonoscopies, and MRI scans, and expand the variety of services contracted out to include specialist services like glaucoma or prostate surgery, and even non-surgical interventions like pain management or follow-up care for diabetes or arthritis." "ACT can see a future where the Government is primarily a purchaser, not a provider, of health services. Private operators have stronger incentives both to provide quality care and to keep costs down. If they don't deliver, they risk losing their contract. "If we fully rejected Labour's squeamishness over private healthcare, we could be far more ambitious in our health targets. In 2023, 28,000 New Zealanders waited longer than four months for elective surgery. That number could be zero." "Most New Zealanders don't care who provides the service, they care about getting off the waitlist and back to living their lives. Using every bit of capacity across the system means more elective surgeries today, without waiting years for Wellington to spend millions building more hospitals."
Scoop
27-05-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Monthly Inflation Reporting Can't Come Soon Enough
Press Release – ACT New Zealand Budget 2025's modest investment in Stats NZ will lead to better, faster monetary policy and better outcomes for Kiwis. 'Tomorrow's Official Cash Rate announcement, based on six-week-old inflation data, highlights why Budget 2025's funding for monthly inflation reporting is so important,' says ACT Finance spokesperson Todd Stephenson. 'Inflation has eased thanks to the Government's focus on reining in waste, and interest rates are following. But when the Reserve Bank doesn't have timely data, it risks holding rates higher than necessary for longer – costing households real money. A 0.25-point difference on a $500,000 mortgage is over $100 a month. 'When interest rates topped out during COVID, Kiwis were stuck paying higher costs thanks to pointless procrastination. When the time is right for rates relief, the change should just happen, like New Zealand is worth it. It's about getting our mojo back as a country and just doing things if they make sense. 'We need to keep the Reserve Bank on the front foot. Monthly inflation data is a great step. But we should also embrace innovation. Massey University's GDPLive Inflation Tracker, for example, uses real-time data to estimate what inflation is doing right now. The Government shouldn't assume its agencies have a monopoly on high-quality information. 'Budget 2025's modest investment in Stats NZ will lead to better, faster monetary policy – and better outcomes for Kiwis.' Notes: Budget 2025 allocated $16.532 million over four years to move from quarterly to monthly Consumers Price Index (CPI) reporting, delivered from the beginning of 2027. More information can be found on page 74 of the Budget 2025 Summary of Initiatives.
Scoop
27-05-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Monthly Inflation Reporting Can't Come Soon Enough
'Tomorrow's Official Cash Rate announcement, based on six-week-old inflation data, highlights why Budget 2025's funding for monthly inflation reporting is so important,' says ACT Finance spokesperson Todd Stephenson. 'Inflation has eased thanks to the Government's focus on reining in waste, and interest rates are following. But when the Reserve Bank doesn't have timely data, it risks holding rates higher than necessary for longer – costing households real money. A 0.25-point difference on a $500,000 mortgage is over $100 a month. 'When interest rates topped out during COVID, Kiwis were stuck paying higher costs thanks to pointless procrastination. When the time is right for rates relief, the change should just happen, like New Zealand is worth it. It's about getting our mojo back as a country and just doing things if they make sense. 'We need to keep the Reserve Bank on the front foot. Monthly inflation data is a great step. But we should also embrace innovation. Massey University's GDPLive Inflation Tracker, for example, uses real-time data to estimate what inflation is doing right now. The Government shouldn't assume its agencies have a monopoly on high-quality information. 'Budget 2025's modest investment in Stats NZ will lead to better, faster monetary policy – and better outcomes for Kiwis.' Notes: Budget 2025 allocated $16.532 million over four years to move from quarterly to monthly Consumers Price Index (CPI) reporting, delivered from the beginning of 2027. More information can be found on page 74 of the Budget 2025 Summary of Initiatives.
Scoop
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Public Sector Union Out Of Touch With The Reality Of Real Work
Press Release – ACT New Zealand The idea that Wellington bureaucrats should be entitled to stay home in their pyjamas while the taxpayers funding their inflated salaries head into work each day is frankly insulting. 'The Public Service Association taking the Government to the Employment Relations Authority over new work-from-home rules shows just how entitled and out of touch the union has become,' says ACT Public Service spokesperson Todd Stephenson. 'Most Kiwis don't get to unilaterally decide their working conditions – especially when it compromises productivity. The idea that Wellington bureaucrats should be entitled to stay home in their pyjamas while the taxpayers funding their inflated salaries head into work each day is frankly insulting. 'In no other workplace would employees get to dictate terms like this, let alone set their lawyers on their employer for asking them to turn up. 'In the real world, working conditions are negotiated one-on-one. If you can prove a flexible setup won't drag down performance, you reach an agreement. That's how normal jobs work. 'Instead, the PSA wants to cling to Labour's failed 'flexible by default' fantasy – a policy that left Wellington's streets empty, public service performance in decline, and no one able to say who was working where, or on what. 'In Opposition, ACT asked about working from home, but our questions went unanswered. The new policy puts an end to that confusion and restores accountability for what people do, or don't, deliver. 'It takes a special kind of organisation to do worse with more money. Rather than fighting for the right to stay home, the PSA should go outside, touch grass, and get back to the office to deliver for the Kiwis who pay their wages.'
Scoop
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Public Sector Union Out Of Touch With The Reality Of Real Work
'The Public Service Association taking the Government to the Employment Relations Authority over new work-from-home rules shows just how entitled and out of touch the union has become,' says ACT Public Service spokesperson Todd Stephenson. 'Most Kiwis don't get to unilaterally decide their working conditions – especially when it compromises productivity. The idea that Wellington bureaucrats should be entitled to stay home in their pyjamas while the taxpayers funding their inflated salaries head into work each day is frankly insulting. 'In no other workplace would employees get to dictate terms like this, let alone set their lawyers on their employer for asking them to turn up. "In the real world, working conditions are negotiated one-on-one. If you can prove a flexible setup won't drag down performance, you reach an agreement. That's how normal jobs work. 'Instead, the PSA wants to cling to Labour's failed 'flexible by default' fantasy – a policy that left Wellington's streets empty, public service performance in decline, and no one able to say who was working where, or on what. 'In Opposition, ACT asked about working from home, but our questions went unanswered. The new policy puts an end to that confusion and restores accountability for what people do, or don't, deliver. 'It takes a special kind of organisation to do worse with more money. Rather than fighting for the right to stay home, the PSA should go outside, touch grass, and get back to the office to deliver for the Kiwis who pay their wages.'
