Thursday, 15 September 2016, 11.00 am
Press Release: Andrew Buckley
It’s not about water fluoridation, it’s about democracy
As a member of the Waikato District Health Board I believe it is my job to ask hard questions and hold our system to account. Board members, both elected and appointed, are there to ensure that a good process is followed so that the best decisions can be made. At our DHB, and apparently at others around New Zealand, I believe that we sometimes lose sight of the right process. As a result, I believe decisions are being made without having all of the relevant facts at hand.
In a democracy such as ours it should not fall to individual DHB board members to highlight failures. The community trusts elected representatives to make good decisions, but in the absence of sound and comprehensive evidence it is impossible to do anything other than rubber-stamp the opinion of someone else.
I believe in due process. I believe in evidence-based decision making. I believe that the comprehensive information needs to be discussed critically and with maturity and objectivity and with a focus on what’s best for the population of the Waikato. I believe that we need to make decisions based on long-term sustainability. I believe that the members of our community deserve to have their voices heard at the DHB board table.
For more on this subject please visit http://www.andrewbuckley.co.nz/issues
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We do not have a democracy we have an oligarchy.
The people did not decide to privatize their assets or to give control of the economy over to private banking cabal that owns the corporations that drafted the TPPA.
Even if you believe elections are fair and unbiased the fact is that when you ” register” to vote with the govt you are giving the Crown corporation ownership/control of your vote.
“He who counts the vote counts.”
*Fluoride at the time of initial mass medication through water was a drug used to lower thyroid function and back then they also had no studies even then to prove it would reduce dental caries by ingestion.So lowering thyroid function through ingesting fluoride slowing down cell metabolism could be a big factor contributing to obesity (and other related problems of the thyroid gland).
Hello BDB.
It is difficult to find fault with your observation that we have an oligarchy. Privatisation of public assets is indeed a contentious issue.
I hail from Ireland and spent twenty years in communications, working with the “Dept. of Post and Telegraphs” which became “Telecom Ireland”, then “Eircom”, “Eir”, etc and was then again split into land line and mobile arms – I’ve lost the details of the stream of events. The upshot anyway, I believe, is that those very valuable sites of operation of Telecom, in the heart of Irish towns and cities, have now been sold off through purchase after purchase with “asset-stripping” at each leg – one of which was Babcock & Brown – the Australian “investment” outfit. The valuable capital asset has been sold off and Telecom Ireland is now, I believe, just a brand with some capital assets but with leases of property instead of ownership. The following book is a fun bed-time read!
https://books.google.co.nz/books?id=uPHMCwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Privatisation+in+Ireland:+Lessons+from+a+European+Economy&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiX7rT_m5jPAhVJpZQKHVMoBPcQ6AEIHDAA#v=onepage&q=Privatisation%20in%20Ireland%3A%20Lessons%20from%20a%20European%20Economy&f=false
All in all, your point of observation is aligned with my own – concern of the actions / inactions of our elected representatives. It boils down to governance “best practice” and that must be practiced by all at the board table. Transparency and accountability are paramount. Also, what would we say to our descendants if we were to meet them? I apply a question when making decisions – “what would the future you say you should do now?”!
Also, I like to keep in mind that, in decision-making, I write my CV and my epitaph!
Good to see some sense being talked about finance!
I moved to Oz 7 years ago but having been involved in voluntary patient advocacy from 1991 I keep up an interest as the Democrats health spokesman. (unorthodox – but why not?!).
Having been twice elected to the West Coast DHB board I despair at seeing the same old do-nothings voted on year after year – and seemingly none of them with the slightest inkling of what the loans for the new Greymouth Hospital are going to cost – unnecessarily.
The original cost estimate for the new building was $67million and based on the length of the loan (and the usual interest) I calculated that the board would pay around the loan amount in interest alone – without paying off any of the capital. Bizarre!
This was published at length in the local paper – and there wasn’t a single word in response.
What DO we do with the apathy of the public?
Good luck with the DHB elections Andrew.
Health Board members should Google the words Fluoride U.N. 1778 and read the chemical details and facts on Fluoride. It is listed as a toxic poison and to be avoided. They should also look up UNESCO Article 6 which New Zealand is signed up to. The Health Board is defying this agreement and is now open to repercussions in the future.