Vote 18
2018 Medical Council of New Zealand Election
ELECTION INFORMATION
Exercise your opportunity to vote During March 2018 the profession will vote to choose four medical practitioners as nominees to the Medical Council. The vote is a chance for you to be involved in the governance of the Council as your regulatory body. The names of the four highest polling candidates will be forwarded by the returning officer of Council to the Minister of Health for consideration for appointment as members of the Council for a 3-year term from July 2018. Nominations must be received by the Returning Office c/- electionz.com by 12 noon on Friday, 19 January 2018. The vote is being conducted under the single transferable vote (STV) system. The election process and counting rules are posted on the Council’s website (www.mcnz.org.nz). The Council urges you to consider either standing yourself or nominating a colleague.
Why stand for the Council? The Council’s role is very important. It is summed up in the Health Practitioner Competence Assurance Act 2003 (HPCAA) as ‘… protect[ing] the health and safety of the public by providing for mechanisms to ensure that [doctors] are competent and fit to practise their profession.’ Currently the Council is made up of four medical members appointed after standing for election, four medical members appointed by the Minister and four public members. The present mix of elected and appointed, professional and public members, provides an excellent balance in Council and we wish to see this continued. Council’s role is to ensure that doctors maintain high professional standards throughout their working lives and to put in place processes that assist with this. We need a strong Council – one both the public and profession can have confidence in. Council decisions are often difficult and require considerable reading, thought and good judgement. The issues are important to the public and profession. I would ask you to think about standing for Council yourself or consider nominating a colleague who you feel has the abilities needed. This is an important election I hope you will vote in March 2018.
Andrew Connolly Chairperson Medical Council of New Zealand
Notice of election The Health Practitioners Competence Assurance (Election of Members of Medical Council of New Zealand) Regulations 2009 allows for an election to be held. The poll will close at 12 noon on Friday, 23 March 2018.
What is the composition of the Council? The Council currently has 12 members. Under the HPCAA, the membership of the Council must include: • a majority of members who are medical practitioners • a minimum of three laypersons. Members may serve a maximum of 9 years (three terms).
What does the Council do? The purpose of the Council is to protect the public; it is not a representative body for the profession or of doctors’ interests. The Council has the following key functions • Accrediting training bodies and qualifications • Registering doctors • Setting standards • Recertifying and promoting lifelong learning for doctors • Reviewing practising doctors if there is a concern about performance, professional conduct or health.
Visit our website
www.mcnz.org.nz
for more information on each of these activities.
Voting timetable Monday, 20 November 2017
Nominations open.
Friday, 19 January 2018 (12 noon)
Nominations close and must be received at the Council. Qualifying date for inclusion on the ‘voting roll’ (the medical register) of doctors registered and resident in New Zealand.
Monday, 19 February 2018
Ballot papers posted to those doctors who do not have an email address or have requested a postal vote.
Tuesday, 20 February 2018
Voting opens. Ballot papers sent electronically to those doctors with an email address.
Friday, 23 March 2018 (12 noon)
Voting closes.
Tuesday, 27 March 2018
The names of the top four polling candidates will be forwarded to the Minister of Health for consideration for appointment to the Council.
Call for nominations and who can be nominated?
Voting process
Any doctor on the New Zealand medical register with a New Zealand address can be nominated for appointment by the Minister of Health to the Council, so long as he or she is still registered on the date nominations close (12 noon on Friday, 19 January 2018). Nomination forms must be emailed to the Returning Office c/- electionz.com to
[email protected] by that time and date. Nominations will only be accepted if they are in the format described and on the form provided.
If more than four candidates are nominated, a vote will be conducted by both an electronic and postal ballot. Voting papers will be sent electronically and hard copies posted to those doctors who do not have an email address on Tuesday, 20 February 2018. Voting will use the STV system, which requires voters to place candidates in order of preference. If only four candidates are nominated, the Returning Officer will declare these candidates to be elected. Every person elected to be a member of the Council will come into office on the day after the Minister of Health’s decision to appoint is published in the New Zealand Gazette. It is expected this will take place in July 2018. Members will serve a 3-year term and up to a maximum of 9 years if they are re-elected.
Biographical information Biographical information personal statements and photos are to go out with the electoral material. Candidates must email to the Returning Officer • a biographical sketch (maximum 100 words) using the enclosed form (scan and attach to email) • a statement to voters (maximum 100 words) prepared by the candidate in Microsoft Word format • a jpg digital camera image of head and shoulders only in high resolution. The email must have the candidate’s name and registration number in it. Information supplied by candidates will be edited to comply with a standard format and sent out with the voting papers. The complete rules are available on our website (www.mcnz.org.nz).
Information about candidates Nominees are required to declare any matters in their background that may bring the profession into disrepute. Any doctor on the New Zealand medical register with a New Zealand address can stand, and voters will be informed if a nominee has a criminal conviction or is not in good standing with the Council. This is subject to any name suppression orders in place.
What is the time commitment? Prospective members should expect to spend up to 20 days a year on Council business. This includes attending regular 2-day meetings of the full Council every second month and additional 1-day meetings as required, plus serving on one or two committees. Most Council and committee meetings are held in Wellington. Without a doubt, serving on the Council is a significant time commitment. For that reason, many members find they need to negotiate a reduced workload in their current posts to allow them to devote their attention properly to Council business. The Council cannot function effectively unless all members are prepared to commit sufficient time and effort to provide good service to the public and profession. The current attendance fee for Council members is $960 per day (GST exclusive). Expenses are reimbursed on an actual and reasonable claim basis. Council members are responsible to the Council as a whole and are not representatives of specific medical groups, professional organisations or communities.
The Returning Officer, Medical Council of New Zealand, c/- electionz.com, PO Box 3138, Christchurch 8140 0800 666 029,
[email protected]
