We recently received a letter from the Ministry of Health showing, first and foremost, that they are watching our work here at Family First closely. This is rather flattering.
The letter took issue with a recent publication we put out on assisted suicide and euthanasia. As you would expect, the representative of the Ministry was keen to ensure they were talking euphemistically, so they wrote throughout about ‘assisted dying’.
Unfortunately, the writer from the Ministry didn’t reference a specific publication – we can assume one of our articles. Still. we have made a number of references to euthanasia and assisted suicide over recent months, be it articles, live commentary (such as Daybreak and Solid Ground), podcasts, and radio interviews.
We assume, however, that it is this one.
At that time, we found that Health New Zealand (not the Ministry – more on that later) had once again got its numbers wrong. As we correctly wrote at the time:
“Reviewing recent quarterly reports from 2024, there are so far two instances where numbers have changed substantially – in one case, nearly doubling the numbers of those euthanised. In the third quarter of 2024 (01/07/2024 to 30/09/2024) the number of deaths leapt up from 73 to 129; an increase of 77%! In the quarter prior (01/04/2024 to 30/06/2024) the number of deaths was revised down from 126 deaths to 108 deaths.”
“If the Ministry can’t even count the numbers correctly, how on earth can New Zealanders have any confidence that the euthanasia system is working safely. Are they getting the criteria correct that patients must meet. What else are they missing?”
The letter we received is primarily concerned that Family First was talking about the Ministry of Health and not Health New Zealand. Supposedly, referencing the Ministry of Health instead of Health New Zealand impacts Pae Ora. We are still not sure what that is.
Regardless, this would be a rather trivial point to the general public, but it is a technical point and one we are happy to acknowledge. Put succinctly, the Ministry of Health is responsible for health policy. Health NZ is responsible for day-to-day operations.
The letter was at pains to point out that it is Health New Zealand (the operational entity) “is now responsible for overseeing and monitoring all operational aspects of the Assisted Dying Service, including collecting data and generating summary reports, including responding to requests under the Official Information Act 1982.” We are all for accuracy here at Family First so we’re happy to make this change. But it does appear a rather dramatic intervention for something relatively trivial to the public.
But it gets better. Having just said we had the wrong entity and telling us it’s pretty much now all managed via Health NZ, the letter immediately goes on to tell us the Ministry is still involved with euthanasia and assisted suicide. While Health NZ does all the dirty work, the Ministry supports the Registrar (for assisted dying), notably in preparing reports. Yes, the very reports that the letter was concerned we were quoting incorrectly … by Family First saying the numbers were from the Ministry … a Ministry that says it is not involved in the reports of the Registrar … but that the Registrar is supported by the Ministry, not Health New Zealand.
Confused? We are, to a degree. It is simply nitpicking. From what we can understand, while the Ministry helps the Registrar prepare reports, the numbers they use originally are sourced from Health NZ, and so they do not wish to take any responsibility for those numbers. Fair enough. Maybe. It’s only an issue of life and death eh.
But it gets even better! We had called out the Ministry (who would prefer we call out Health NZ, so let’s change to that from here on in) for getting the numbers wrong in earlier reports. We know this because we can compare their original data with updated information. The letter, however, wants us only to note the amended data. That is, only report on what is ‘now’ and not the inconsistencies in the past which point to a failing system.
The letter stressed it was a validation error in the IT system. Yes, you’ve read that right, a ‘validation error’ (whatever that is!) managed to duplicate some numbers, and, in some quarters miss almost half the actual numbers or add deaths that never happened. This is okay according to the letter because they have put a disclaimer at the bottom of the page.
The letter insists “[Family First’s] publication refers to the historical incorrect Assisted Dying data and needs to be updated to reflect the correct amended data.” It may come as a surprise to the Ministry of Health, but our commentary is based on both the current and the historical data. We are pointing out that Health NZ and the Ministry cannot count (due to an IT validation error or otherwise) and importantly, have got their reporting wrong.
The point is not to report the conveniently cleaned up data, but to illustrate that in a law that literally enables people to end their lives prematurely, that the government agencies responsible were not able to get even the basics of reporting right.
One last reflection. We are always happy to correct information and appreciate it when government agencies or anyone else engages to let us know if we have something wrong. However, the letter instructs us that the data “needs to be updated”. Last time we checked, there is no legal requirement to present information in a way that satisfies the Ministry of Health or Health NZ.
While we will update the earlier article to indicate it was, strictly, Health NZ and not the Ministry of Health, responsible for the erroneous data – we will not be amending the numbers to hide the fact that these agencies got it wrong at the start. That’s the whole point – we shared the earlier data and the current data to show the discrepancy.
So thank you for the letter Ministry of Health. We look forward to others letting us know you are recommending the banning of puberty blockers; stopping the mutilation of children through gender surgery, admitting the harm of abortion drugs, and more.
*Note: Written by Family First staff
