New Zealanders' egalitarianism has been criticised as discouraging and denigrating ambition and individual achievement and success – a phenomenon known colloquially as 'Tall Poppy Syndrome'. New Zealanders tend to value modesty and distrust those who talk about their own merits. They especially dislike anyone who seems to consider themselves better than others even if the person in question is demonstrably more talented or successful than others. It is partly for this reason that mountaineer Sir Edmund Hillary is so admired in New Zealand; despite being the first person to climb Mount Everest, he was always very modest. Extreme humility was arguably partly responsible for the early death of Prime Minister Norman Kirk, who might have survived his various health problems had he used his status to get preferential treatment from the public health system, or used private healthcare.