New Zealand Public Health Association call for wider use of HIA

The New Zealand Public Health Association has urged the New Zealand Parliament's Finance and Expenditure Committee to rigorously assess the wider impact of government policies.

Dr Bichan urged Government to fully assess the health impacts of various policies, saying that health impact assessment tools were available to policy-makers. By considering the impact of a policy on the health of children and families, the Government could be alerted to any unintended negative consequences of that policy, such as some groups slipping further into poverty, and experiencing poorer health.
Source

The HIA tools mentioned include the Guide to HIA: A Policy Tool for New Zealand which was release by the Public Health Advisory Committee in 2004. It's quite a well structured document and is worthwhile reading for those with an interest in using HIA on policies.