Submissions

The Auckland Women’s Health Council supports moves to restrict access of young people to vaping products and efforts to prevent young people taking up vaping. However, we believe the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Amendment Bill (No 2) does not do enough to protect New Zealanders from harm caused by vaping. While safer than smoking tobacco, vaping still causes harm to health and has been shown to be a “gateway” to smoking tobacco for some people. Continuing to permit retail sales to non-smokers (as opposed to vape products beinga tool to help smokers quit) is blatant pandering to the tobacco industry whose sole purpose is the manufacture and sale of harmful tobacco products for profit, and who have turned to manufacturing and selling vape products to make up for lost revenue from declining sales of smoked tobacco products.

The Auckland Women’s Health Council made an oral submission to the Parliamentary Health Select Committee on the 10th of October 2024 on the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Amendment Bill (No 2). We focussed on our belief that vape products should not be available in a retail setting as a recreational products, but that they should only be available as a smoking cessation tool for existing tobacco smokers and should be available only from controlled outlets, such as pharmacies.

You can view the video of our submission here; it starts at about 2:00:50.

The ‘transcript’ of the oral submission is here.

The AWHC has a long-standing interest in the HDC and Code of Health Consumer Rights. In this submission we express our concerns about the complaints resolution process; making the Act work better for Māori and people with disabilities; lack of clarity around and protecxtion for incapacitated patients being used in medical/health research; and our long-standing support for the right to appeal HDC decisions in order to ensure fair and just outcomes.

Written submission on the Medical Council Consultation on the Regulation of Physician Associates, July 2023.

AWHC was invited to provide early input into the HDC’s review of the HDC Act 1994 and the Health and Disability Commissioner (Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers’ Rights) Regulations 1996

Our oral submission on the Therapeutic Products Bill, emphasising the need for consumer representation, patient safety and better regulation of implantable medical devices. Our submission begins at 2:48.

Our written submission on the Therapeutic Products Bill, which is to replace the Medicines Act 1981 and introduces a new therapeutic products regulator. 5 March 2023.

AWHC written submission on the revised National Ethics Advisory Committee guidelines on Ethical Guidance for a Pandemic – November 2022

Written submission on the Medical Council’s revised statement on Doctors and health-related commercial organisations – October 2022

The AWHC previously made a submissions on adoption law reform in 2021. This submission is on the options that the Ministry of Justice is considering for a new adoption system - August 2022

April 2022

Video of AWHC’s oral submission (starting at 35 seconds) on the Accident Compensation (Maternal Birth Injury and Other Matters) Amendment Bill presented to the Education and Workforce Select Committee on the 30th of March 2022.

The AWHC previously made a submissions on adoption law reform in 2021. This submission is on the options that the Ministry of Justice is considering for a new adoption system - August 2022

On the 9^th of November, the Government published the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Bill, the draft legislation that will provide the legislative structure for the new health system. When enacted, this legislation will replace the New Zealand Public Health and Disability Act 2000 in its entirety. AWHC lodged a substantial submission on this critical piece of legislation in December 2021.

Over a period of about 18 months, AWHC was involved with supporting Renate Schütte’s Parliamentary petition requesting that the “House of Representatives amend the Health and Disability Commissioner Act 1994 to give complainants, and those that are the subject of complaints, the right to appeal decisions made by the Health and Disability Commissioner.”

AWHC’s submission on the Law Commission “Issues Paper” on surrogacy law reform, September 2021.

This submission on vaping is prepared by ASH. It takes a public health perspective by recognising the still high levels of smoking in the adult population. ASH identifies vaping as a strategy to reach the public health goal of achieving the Smokefree 2025 goal and to reduce the inequitable burden of disease that is experienced by Maori as a result of cigarette smoking. 

Submission of the Auckland Women’s Health Council on the consultation on the HPV Clincial Pathway.

Oral Submission on the Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion (Safe Areas) Amendment Bill- May 2021.

Crimes (Definition of Female Genital Mutilation) Amendment Bill- 2021.

Abortion Law Reform Submission- September 2019.

We responded to the following questions in the consultation document:

B13, B14, B16, B27, B35, C1, C4, C5, C11, C12, C13, C16, C52, C53

Our responses – in blue text – start at Question B13 on page 52 of 198 of the document.

AWHC Submission on Proposed Changes to the National Health Index (NHI) system.

Abortion Law Reform Submission from the Auckland Women’s Health Council to the Law Commission.

Health (National Cervical Screening Programme) Amendment Bill Submission from the Auckland Women’s Health Council.

New Zealand Health Research Strategy Discussion Document
Submission.

Introduction of Fit for Purpose Omics-based Technologies – Think Piece.

Submission on the review of the Health & Disability Commissioner Act 1994 & Code of Rights – 2014.

AWHC Submission on Draft SOPs for Health & Disability Ethics Committees – February 2012.

Submission on the review of the Health & Disability Commissioner Act 1994 & Code of Rights – 2009.