Summarised by Centrist
New Health Minister Simeon Brown pushed back against questionable media coverage of a Public Service Association (PSA) survey on health worker stress.
While Christopher Luxon chuckled in the background, Brown called out the press gallery for reporting partisan distortions designed to embarrass the government.
The survey, led by PSA head Fleur Fitzsimmons—a former Labour candidate who lost Wellington’s Rongotai seat to the Greens—was sent to 90,000 health workers. Just 1,300 responded, and 85% of those reported feeling stressed.
New Health Minister Simeon Brown showed a bit of the the fight today that his Prime Minister so badly lacks.
— The Redbaiter (@TheRedbaiter) March 3, 2025
While Mr Luxon giggled nervously in the background, Simeon Brown confronted the press gallery when they asked him about a Public Service Association survey released… pic.twitter.com/DS1Afvwa2o
The media framed this as “85% of frontline health workers say they are stressed by staff shortages,” conveniently omitting that 98.5% of workers didn’t even bother responding.
Brown didn’t let the distortion slide, pointing out Fitzsimmons’ Labour ties and questioning the survey’s credibility, exposing the press for failing to provide context.