NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather forecasts

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
    • The Great NZ Road Trip
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
    • Cooking the Books
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • What the Actual
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

Paul Hutchison: Next PM should pick up child health plan agreed by all parties

By Dr Paul Hutchison
NZ Herald·
28 Aug, 2017 05:00 PM5 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Interventions early in life have a better chance of helping children go on to healthy, fulfilling lives. Photo / 123RF

Interventions early in life have a better chance of helping children go on to healthy, fulfilling lives. Photo / 123RF

Opinion

• Dr Paul Hutchison, a former National MP, was chair of the health select committee. This article is endorsed by Auckland University professors Lesley McCowan (obstetrics and gynaecology) and Innes Asher (paediatrics, child and youth health) and Professor Gregor Coster, dean of health at Victoria University.

If in New Zealand we truly want all our children to achieve their full potential, and to break cycles of disadvantage and minimise child poverty, there is need for exceptional leadership and a combined will to invest in policies we already know about. Election 2017 provides that opportunity.

Which political leaders are prepared to step up and make the commitment to fully implement a way forward for children that is already published and agreed on by the political parties including National, Labour and New Zealand First?

In November 2013, Parliament's health select committee published a cross-party, essentially unanimous, set of recommendations after a two-year inquiry into improving child health and preventing child abuse, with a focus from before conception until three years of age. The template is waiting for our next prime minister to fully grasp.

The committee called on the Government to take "an early investment approach, to put more focus on an investment into the preconception period to three years of age, and take a health promotion, disease prevention approach (based on scientific evidence) to improving children's outcomes and diminishing child abuse".

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The work of Nobel Prize winning economist James Heckman and many others has built up compelling comprehensive evidence that investment in the very early years will yield a significantly higher return for every dollar compared to delayed investment, provided the investment is high quality and evidence-based.

Any New Zealand government with the will could start implementing, "world's best practice" policies from preconception until three months of life and then extend in six-month intervals as finances allow. Just imagine New Zealand being best in the world for children.

The economic rationale is based on the principle that since resources are limited, investments in interventions should be made where they have the best chance of long term success and the best return for every dollar. It is a no-brainer. It will result in more children leading healthy lives and progressing to meaningful jobs.

Productivity will be increased and money will be saved, an early investment approach is a win for children and a win for the economy.

Ideally adults should take full responsibility for the care of children, and there should always be clear signals and incentives for that to happen. In reality, many children miss out for reasons beyond their control.

Discover more

Investment

Housing: what's the main parties' plans?

10 Sep 05:00 PM

New Zealand evidence from the internationally regarded "Dunedin study" by Professor Richie Poulten and the Prime Minister's Chief Science Advisor, Sir Peter Gluckman, overwhelmingly backs the early investment approach.

The committee's report had 12 major recommendations ranging from; the economics of early intervention in children, preconception care and reproductive and sexual health (including timely access to effective and affordable contraception), nutrition and obesity, alcohol, tobacco and drug harm, maternity, socioeconomic determinants of health including housing, research on children, collaboration, to leadership.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

There were 130 specific recommendations with practical details of how to achieve benchmarks, along with time lines.

Substantial progress has been made, as evident from the better public services programme, the white paper for vulnerable children, the children's action plan and the wide range of initiatives in the health, education and social sectors for children and their parents. More recently, the Government has initiated a child obesity plan and established the Ministry for Vulnerable Children. These are a step in the right direction but a bolder more holistic approach is urgently needed.

After the health select committee report in July 2016 and the Government's response, the select committee was due to report on what it believed had been achieved to date, but ironically its time and energies were dominated by the "assisted suicide" debate. That madness of prioritisation could be put right by our next prime minister.

While significant efforts have been made by the Government to improve the status of children in New Zealand, there clearly remains huge unmet need if we are to become one of the best places in the world for all children, not just the lucky 80 per cent.

To improve some of our appalling statistics regarding children, their place needs to be elevated to be of national importance along with the economy, housing, transport and immigration.

The power of the select committee report was that it was cross party and essentially unanimous. It was informed by some of the best brains in the country. There is a widely acclaimed and agreed upon blueprint to implement.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The committee's recommendation on leadership read, "We recommend to the Government that the Prime Minister accept the formal role for developing and implementing a whole of government action plan for improving outcomes for all children including a specific early intervention action plan, covering preconception to three years of age".

The Prime Minister's responsibilities should include defining the economic and general evidence base behind the action plan, monitoring and measuring outcomes and reporting how the government proposes to make improvements in a transparent annual or biannual plan."

Which political leader(s) have the courage to make this commitment for our children in election 2017?

Save

    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

New Zealand

Family of 10-year-old killed in Mother's Day ATV crash speak of 'devastating loss'

13 May 02:08 AM
live
Politics

Watch: Luxon on attack as Hipkins claims PM ‘taking money out of women’s pay packets’

13 May 02:08 AM
New ZealandUpdated

Move to protect Fiordland elk draws ire of Forest & Bird

13 May 01:43 AM

One tiny baby’s fight to survive

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

Family of 10-year-old killed in Mother's Day ATV crash speak of 'devastating loss'

Family of 10-year-old killed in Mother's Day ATV crash speak of 'devastating loss'

13 May 02:08 AM

The schoolboy dreamed of one day stepping into the family thoroughbred business.

Watch: Luxon on attack as Hipkins claims PM ‘taking money out of women’s pay packets’
live

Watch: Luxon on attack as Hipkins claims PM ‘taking money out of women’s pay packets’

13 May 02:08 AM
Move to protect Fiordland elk draws ire of Forest & Bird

Move to protect Fiordland elk draws ire of Forest & Bird

13 May 01:43 AM
The Country catches up with the Share Farmers of the Year

The Country catches up with the Share Farmers of the Year

13 May 01:39 AM
Connected workers are safer workers 
sponsored

Connected workers are safer workers 

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP