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Home / Northern Advocate

Have your say: Dollars rule

Northern Advocate
19 Oct, 2015 05:00 AM2 mins to read

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Quality of life has been replaced by the almighty dollar, says a reader.

Quality of life has been replaced by the almighty dollar, says a reader.

I find it difficult to comprehend how the philosophy and values of our country, NZ, has reverted to money, the inequality of its distribution and worst of all the mismanagement in spending of it and that the Government only refers to the economy and never people! Do we not matter any more unless we have x amount of millions of dollars?

Take health as one example of economic waste. How can the Fred Hollows Foundation complete an eye surgery for $25 or the heart surgeon in Fiji perform 30 heart operations in one week in a temporary mobile theatre when in NZ many people are struck off waiting lists for operations and suffer greatly or at worst shorten the lists by conveniently dying. I understand that the surgical waiting list for 2015 will close this month from the Northland DHB, with no more names added until 2016?

Quality of life and compassion obviously have no place in Godzone any more, being replaced by the mighty dollar.

The Minister of Health repeats parrot fashion that "we have spent more millions than ever before" ad nauseum!

With a growing population and 60,000 migrants entering each year, plus wastage of money on managerial positions, consultants, outsourcing, travel, vehicles and conferences, maybe budgeting could be well worth further scrutiny so taxpaying workers get more bangs for their bucks!

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Marie Kaire
Ngararatunua, Whangarei

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