Some nurses may not see their pay rises before Christmas, despite a commitment made by health boards and the health minister saying the delays are "unacceptable".
Finance Minister Grant Robertson speaks to media after his pre-Budget speech in Auckland on Monday. Becoming a qualified doctor in 1988, Vyas said he now treats children from all over the country with rare, complex and severe lung diseases. He sees the effects of child poverty and said kids get a “very, very bad deal” because of it. “I look after kids with a condition called bronchiectasis. It is a disease that is absolutely affected, influenced, driven, aggravated by all the various markers of poverty – food, security, smoke exposure, and cold, damp housing.” Vyas described the state of mental health services in New Zealand as a “crisis”.