Dr Reti makes a housecall to Horowhenua

• Published date: 01 September 2023
• Author: Janine Baalbergen
• Publication title: Horowhenua Chronicle

National Ōtaki candidate Tim Costley, who had invited Reti to Horowhenua, said cost of living, Ō2NL, crime and health were the big issues

Reti brought an impressive CV to his job as MP, and will be the next Minister of Health, Costley said.

He still works as a GP on occasion, and has done stints on ambulances across the country, “to observe what works and what doesn’t,” he told an audience of 100 faithful in Levin last week.

He described Costley as his eyes and ears in the electorate and said the candidate was already part of his team. He said he chose to be a practising doctor during summer recesses, “to maintain my credibility”. He said officials in Wellington make policy from behind a desk. “I try to find out how much of what they come up with really works.”

He takes this so seriously he has a medical kit on hand in Parliament, just in case.

“I almost had to use it once.”

He said he had his health manifesto ready last December but was only allowed to drip-feed pieces of it.

He stood for women’s health, and preventative medicine and had proposed a change in the eligibility for breast screening.

“The bonding of nurses and midwives is next. We promise them loan relief if they work in their profession for five years after graduating.”

The motivation for that was the fact a third of trainee nurses throw in the towel during training.

“They cannot afford the living expenses,” Reti said.

The party’s third big health announcement this year was in relation to the plan to set up a third medical school, in Waikato.

“Why not give the job to the Auckland and Otago medical schools, which each can only cater for 50 students? Well, they have to overhaul their facilities, their training plans, and then must obtain accreditation for those plans, which is a three-year process.”

He said the Waikato facility would train 120 students each year and would be a graduate school.

“They will do four years of clinical training like they do in the USA, Canada, and...