Minister of Health 'astonished' at Public Health's Wānaka McDonald's submission

Southern region Public Health officials have been given a dressing down by the Minister of Health for objecting to the construction of a new McDonald’s restaurant in Wānaka.

After he was informed about the contents of a submission by the southern arm of the NPHS regarding a proposed fast food outlet in Wānaka, Minister of Health Shane Reti said the National Public Health Service should concentrate its focus on prioritising serious public health issues facing New Zealanders.

Queenstown Lakes District Council is this week conducting a Resource Consent hearing about the proposed restaurant.

Dr Reti said it found it “astonishing” that the eight-page submission did not even raise the issue of healthy eating.

“Content within the submission, including observations about planetary health, landscape values, traffic and Te Tiriti do not match my over-arching view of what the NPHS should be spending its time on.

“Whooping cough, measles and raising immunisation rates are among the most pressing issues facing health today.”

The submission compiled by the National Public Health Service (NPHS) Te Waipounamu region, Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora, instead requested “a Health Impact Assessment

(HIA) and a Cultural Impact Assessment (CIA) from McDonald’s”, and states “consent should not be granted unless such an assessment can demonstrate mostly positive outcomes for the community in terms of their social, cultural and economic wellbeing”.

Dr Reti says he raised his ongoing concerns about the content of submissions like this one with the chief executive of Health New Zealand.

“I am pleased to hear that the National Director of the NPHS has now undertaken to review all potential public submissions from his agency, whether at a national, local or regional level.”

Main image (supplied): A computer render of the proposed McDonald's at Wānaka.