A high-profile emergency doctor has been selected to stand for the Labour Party against the incumbent Whāngarei MP, former Health Minister Dr Shane Reti.
Dr Gary Payinda said he felt compelled to do something about what he saw as the government’s ongoing attack on essential public services.
“I’ve been working in the public health sector 18 years, and understaffing and infrastructure problems come and go – but an assault on a broader array of public services is a new thing.
“We’ve got a government that’s bent on tearing up the social structure.”
Payinda said it was a wrench to consider leaving medicine.
“But there are some things that are more important than even treating one patient at a time – and that’s trying to protect thousands of patients, and tens of thousands of people, if I can get a chance to do that.”
Labour’s plans for three free GP visits a year would be “a game-changer” in healthcare, helping people before their conditions worsened and they ended up in hospital, he said.
“It’s a privilege to live and work in Northland, but over the past two years I’ve watched the National government drive inequity, undercut public health and make visiting the doctor more expensive and out of reach for many people.
“I believe in equity for all and in the social good that Labour has always stood for – policies that benefit every New Zealander, regular Kiwis, the regular person, not just those at the top.
“I understand how government policies and public services can literally transform lives.”
