Party vote
Health
The current government has reformed the public healthcare system, merging the many district health boards into two national entities – Te Whatu Ora | Health New Zealand and Te Aka Whai Ora | Māori Health Authority. Parties on the right want to disestablish the Māori Health Authority and reprioritise health spending, including towards specific cancer treatments. Parties on the left defend the reforms and propose expanding free dental access.
Health
The current government has reformed the public healthcare system, merging the many district health boards into two national entities – Te Whatu Ora | Health New Zealand and Te Aka Whai Ora | Māori Health Authority. Parties on the right want to disestablish the Māori Health Authority and reprioritise health spending, including towards specific cancer treatments. Parties on the left defend the reforms and propose expanding free dental access.
Provide free mental health services for children and young people
Provide free dental care for everyone
Establish a New Zealand Dental Service
Properly resource Māori oral health services
Increase the number of dental professionals
Reform drug laws
Eliminate the use of seclusion in state care or disability services
Legalise cannabis for personal use
Expand alcohol and drug rehabilitation services
Ban most alcohol ads and all sponsorships
Improve frameworks for therapeutic uses of controlled substances
Regulate the vaping industry and ban disposable vapes
Increase access to overdose prevention services
Create school hubs with health and social services
Legislate for a right to a healthy environment
Improve pregnancy care through better funding of midwives and services
Strengthen Te Aka Whai Ora Māori Health Authority
Train healthcare workers to reduce biases
Increase Pharmac funding
Improve working conditions for healthcare workers
Establish Healthy Air standards for building ventilation
Reduce risk of sudden infant death among Māori
Provide free mental health care
Implement recommendations from the Ministry of Health's suicide prevention strategy
Deliver mental health and addiction programmes targeted at Māori
Speed up access to support for people with neurodivergent conditions
Review Compulsory Treatment Orders for mental health
Improve help for people suffering from eating disorders
Train more mental health professionals
Strengthen the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission
Develop a long-term strategy for improving dementia care
Create ventilation standards for homes to reduce airborne illnesses
Increase funding for Te Aka Whai Ora
Introduce a Māori health card
Establish a kaupapa Māori mental health service
Make Māori eligible for cancer screenings 10 years earlier
Provide free primary health, dental care and medication to low income families
Spend $1 billion per year on developing the health workforce
Increase Pharmac funding
Support mātauranga Māori models of health
Establish a Māori accident compensation authority
Decriminalise drug use
Enable mental health professionals to attend emergency mental health incidents
Increase funding for Whānau Ora and drug abuse prevention
Improve access to health services for disabled people
Aim to ensure antenatal screening programmes are not biased towards termination if disability is diagnosed
Provide personhood rights to foetuses from conception
Ban medical abortions and withdraw public funding for abortion services
Ban assisted dying and prioritise funding for palliative care
Ban gender reassignment surgery and hormone therapies for young people
Oppose the use of vaccine mandates
Expand Covid-19 inquiry to examine vaccine injuries
Pay compensation to people who lost jobs due to Covid-19 vaccination requirements
Tighten restrictions on alcohol marketing
Oppose border closures
Establish a third medical school
Increase the number of placements at Auckland and Otago medical schools
Increase funding for victim support services
Extend free breast cancer screening to those aged up to 74 years
Create bonding scheme for nurses and midwives working in NZ
Offer automatic six-month work visas to qualified nurses and midwives from overseas
Provide relocation grants to up to 1000 qualified overseas nurses or midwives
Increase funding for new cancer treatments
Limit access to free prescriptions to those on low incomes and those over 65
Abolish Te Aka Whai Ora Māori Health Authority
Create a fund to support community mental health organisations
Establish a minister for mental health
Work with the construction sector to improve access to mental health services
Set performance targets for health system waiting times
Pay bonus to GPs who lift immunisation rates for at-risk age groups
Develop guidelines for ovarian cancer diagnosis
Consider lowering the age for free bowel cancer screening
Review prostate cancer diagnosis and management
Increase Pharmac funding by $724 million over four years
Speed up medicine approval process
Increase transparency around medicine funding process
Provide free blood sugar monitors to young people with type 1 diabetes
Extend free postnatal stays from two to three days
Increase the number of psychiatrist registrar placements
Increase the number of clinical psychologists trained each year
Retain recent vaping reforms
Increase penalties for supplying vapes to under 18s
Limit the number of vape stores to 600
Ban vape products from being visible from the street
Extend the adult criminal jurisdiction to cover 17-year-olds
Review Pharmac
Subsidise common elective surgeries in private hospitals
Speed up evaluations for migrants seeking work in primary healthcare
Sell public hospitals to private investors under leaseback arrangements
Establish a national mental health and addiction agency
Increase funding to GPs
Repeal all or part of the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act
Abolish Te Aka Whai Ora Māori Health Authority
Enable physician assistants to take on more tasks
Give the minister of health the power to override regulations
Restrict access to permanent sickness benefits
Crowdsource the terms of reference for the Covid-19 Royal Commission of Inquiry
Reverse the ban on over-the-counter pseudoephedrine
Produce a medicines strategy every three years
Approve new medicines approved overseas within a week
Compensate people who lost jobs due to Covid-19 vaccination requirements
Provide Hato Hone St John with adequate government funding
Ensure Whānau Āwhina Plunket is adequately funded
Fund charity that provides free counselling to young people
Ensure rescue services are adequately funded
Increase funding for medicines and review Pharmac
Abolish Te Aka Whai Ora Māori Health Authority
Hold an inquiry into the Covid-19 response
Repeal the Therapeutic Products Act
Oppose the use of vaccine mandates
Introduce mental health response units
Provide seniors with two free doctor visits annually
Pursue cross-party agreement around dementia care
Provide free primary healthcare to under 30s
Introduce a card and app for citizens and residents up to the age of 30
Fund a new cancer treatment centre and laboratory in Christchurch
Fund a new mental health and trauma centre in Christchurch
Fund car parking improvements at Christchurch Hospital
Provide healthcare workers with liveable wages and safer hours
Increase placements at medical, nursing and dentistry schools
Introduce an accelerated post-graduate medical programme for people with relevant degrees
Increase financial incentives for medical workers who move to hard to staff areas or specialities
Fund a free ambulance service
Make all contraception free
Make antenatal ultrasounds free
Support Te Whatu Ora to provide more GP practices in rural areas
Support further research into the use of psychoactive drugs to treat mental illnesses
Fund a national expansion of the alcohol and other drug treatment court
Legalise the sale of cannabis
Provide free basic mental health care to under 30s
Provide free dental care to under 30s
Provide free basic eyecare to under 30s
Increase funding for vape cessation programmes
Restrict the sale of vapes to pharmacies
Reform regulations for therapeutic products
Retain free prescriptions
Make funding for Māori health providers equitable
Encourage government agencies and organisations to develop Te Reo Māori language development plans
Limit the number of vape stores to 600
Increase penalties for supplying vapes to under 18s
Continue anti-vaping messaging for young people
Investigate options to reduce the visibility of vape products in shops
Provide free dental care to under 30s
Increase the number of dental places at university by 50 percent
Retain Te Aka Whai Ora Māori Health Authority
Improve study and employment options for Māori health workers
Encourage dental clinics to hire workers from overseas
Establish new research centres focused on tech, climate change, and pandemics
Enable mental health professionals to attend emergency mental health incidents
Make cervical screening free for those aged 25 to 69
Increase doctors placements in medical schools
Create 700 additional nursing placements
Expand healthcare apprenticeship scheme
Increase overseas recruitment of senior medical workers
Extend the living wage to contracted and directly employed workers in the education sector and Te Whatu Ora
Create a national endometriosis action plan
Rebuild Hawke’s Bay Hospital
Remove all remaining coal boilers in schools, tertiary institutions and hospitals
Increase Pharmac funding by $1 billion over four years
Continue the rollout of the HIV Action Plan
Fund eight primary health care providers around the country to provide gender affirming care
Review criteria for blood donation
Introduce a nationwide informed consent model for gender affirming healthcare
Protect intersex children from unnecessary medical intervention
Increase funding for general practices
Increase access to general practices and after-hours care
Establish place-based health plans with community input
Clear the backlog of people waiting more than a year for surgery by June 2024
Clear the waitlist for people waiting more than four months for any procedure by 2026
Standardise criteria for receiving cataract surgery
Work towards a global pandemic treaty
Provide free mental health services for children and young people
Provide free dental care for everyone
Establish a New Zealand Dental Service
Properly resource Māori oral health services
Increase the number of dental professionals
Reform drug laws
Eliminate the use of seclusion in state care or disability services
Legalise cannabis for personal use
Expand alcohol and drug rehabilitation services
Ban most alcohol ads and all sponsorships
Improve frameworks for therapeutic uses of controlled substances
Regulate the vaping industry and ban disposable vapes
Increase access to overdose prevention services
Create school hubs with health and social services
Legislate for a right to a healthy environment
Improve pregnancy care through better funding of midwives and services
Strengthen Te Aka Whai Ora Māori Health Authority
Train healthcare workers to reduce biases
Increase Pharmac funding
Improve working conditions for healthcare workers
Establish Healthy Air standards for building ventilation
Reduce risk of sudden infant death among Māori
Provide free mental health care
Implement recommendations from the Ministry of Health's suicide prevention strategy
Deliver mental health and addiction programmes targeted at Māori
Speed up access to support for people with neurodivergent conditions
Review Compulsory Treatment Orders for mental health
Improve help for people suffering from eating disorders
Train more mental health professionals
Strengthen the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission
Develop a long-term strategy for improving dementia care
Create ventilation standards for homes to reduce airborne illnesses
Increase funding for Te Aka Whai Ora
Introduce a Māori health card
Establish a kaupapa Māori mental health service
Make Māori eligible for cancer screenings 10 years earlier
Provide free primary health, dental care and medication to low income families
Spend $1 billion per year on developing the health workforce
Increase Pharmac funding
Support mātauranga Māori models of health
Establish a Māori accident compensation authority
Decriminalise drug use
Enable mental health professionals to attend emergency mental health incidents
Increase funding for Whānau Ora and drug abuse prevention
Improve access to health services for disabled people
Aim to ensure antenatal screening programmes are not biased towards termination if disability is diagnosed
Provide personhood rights to foetuses from conception
Ban medical abortions and withdraw public funding for abortion services
Ban assisted dying and prioritise funding for palliative care
Ban gender reassignment surgery and hormone therapies for young people
Oppose the use of vaccine mandates
Expand Covid-19 inquiry to examine vaccine injuries
Pay compensation to people who lost jobs due to Covid-19 vaccination requirements
Tighten restrictions on alcohol marketing
Oppose border closures
Establish a third medical school
Increase the number of placements at Auckland and Otago medical schools
Increase funding for victim support services
Extend free breast cancer screening to those aged up to 74 years
Create bonding scheme for nurses and midwives working in NZ
Offer automatic six-month work visas to qualified nurses and midwives from overseas
Provide relocation grants to up to 1000 qualified overseas nurses or midwives
Increase funding for new cancer treatments
Limit access to free prescriptions to those on low incomes and those over 65
Abolish Te Aka Whai Ora Māori Health Authority
Create a fund to support community mental health organisations
Establish a minister for mental health
Work with the construction sector to improve access to mental health services
Set performance targets for health system waiting times
Pay bonus to GPs who lift immunisation rates for at-risk age groups
Develop guidelines for ovarian cancer diagnosis
Consider lowering the age for free bowel cancer screening
Review prostate cancer diagnosis and management
Increase Pharmac funding by $724 million over four years
Speed up medicine approval process
Increase transparency around medicine funding process
Provide free blood sugar monitors to young people with type 1 diabetes
Extend free postnatal stays from two to three days
Increase the number of psychiatrist registrar placements
Increase the number of clinical psychologists trained each year
Retain recent vaping reforms
Increase penalties for supplying vapes to under 18s
Limit the number of vape stores to 600
Ban vape products from being visible from the street
Extend the adult criminal jurisdiction to cover 17-year-olds
Review Pharmac
Subsidise common elective surgeries in private hospitals
Speed up evaluations for migrants seeking work in primary healthcare
Sell public hospitals to private investors under leaseback arrangements
Establish a national mental health and addiction agency
Increase funding to GPs
Repeal all or part of the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act
Abolish Te Aka Whai Ora Māori Health Authority
Enable physician assistants to take on more tasks
Give the minister of health the power to override regulations
Restrict access to permanent sickness benefits
Crowdsource the terms of reference for the Covid-19 Royal Commission of Inquiry
Reverse the ban on over-the-counter pseudoephedrine
Produce a medicines strategy every three years
Approve new medicines approved overseas within a week
Compensate people who lost jobs due to Covid-19 vaccination requirements
Provide Hato Hone St John with adequate government funding
Ensure Whānau Āwhina Plunket is adequately funded
Fund charity that provides free counselling to young people
Ensure rescue services are adequately funded
Increase funding for medicines and review Pharmac
Abolish Te Aka Whai Ora Māori Health Authority
Hold an inquiry into the Covid-19 response
Repeal the Therapeutic Products Act
Oppose the use of vaccine mandates
Introduce mental health response units
Provide seniors with two free doctor visits annually
Pursue cross-party agreement around dementia care
Provide free primary healthcare to under 30s
Introduce a card and app for citizens and residents up to the age of 30
Fund a new cancer treatment centre and laboratory in Christchurch
Fund a new mental health and trauma centre in Christchurch
Fund car parking improvements at Christchurch Hospital
Provide healthcare workers with liveable wages and safer hours
Increase placements at medical, nursing and dentistry schools
Introduce an accelerated post-graduate medical programme for people with relevant degrees
Increase financial incentives for medical workers who move to hard to staff areas or specialities
Fund a free ambulance service
Make all contraception free
Make antenatal ultrasounds free
Support Te Whatu Ora to provide more GP practices in rural areas
Support further research into the use of psychoactive drugs to treat mental illnesses
Fund a national expansion of the alcohol and other drug treatment court
Legalise the sale of cannabis
Provide free basic mental health care to under 30s
Provide free dental care to under 30s
Provide free basic eyecare to under 30s
Increase funding for vape cessation programmes
Restrict the sale of vapes to pharmacies
Reform regulations for therapeutic products
Retain free prescriptions
Make funding for Māori health providers equitable
Encourage government agencies and organisations to develop Te Reo Māori language development plans
Limit the number of vape stores to 600
Increase penalties for supplying vapes to under 18s
Continue anti-vaping messaging for young people
Investigate options to reduce the visibility of vape products in shops
Provide free dental care to under 30s
Increase the number of dental places at university by 50 percent
Retain Te Aka Whai Ora Māori Health Authority
Improve study and employment options for Māori health workers
Encourage dental clinics to hire workers from overseas
Establish new research centres focused on tech, climate change, and pandemics
Enable mental health professionals to attend emergency mental health incidents
Make cervical screening free for those aged 25 to 69
Increase doctors placements in medical schools
Create 700 additional nursing placements
Expand healthcare apprenticeship scheme
Increase overseas recruitment of senior medical workers
Extend the living wage to contracted and directly employed workers in the education sector and Te Whatu Ora
Create a national endometriosis action plan
Rebuild Hawke’s Bay Hospital
Remove all remaining coal boilers in schools, tertiary institutions and hospitals
Increase Pharmac funding by $1 billion over four years
Continue the rollout of the HIV Action Plan
Fund eight primary health care providers around the country to provide gender affirming care
Review criteria for blood donation
Introduce a nationwide informed consent model for gender affirming healthcare
Protect intersex children from unnecessary medical intervention
Increase funding for general practices
Increase access to general practices and after-hours care
Establish place-based health plans with community input
Clear the backlog of people waiting more than a year for surgery by June 2024
Clear the waitlist for people waiting more than four months for any procedure by 2026
Standardise criteria for receiving cataract surgery
Work towards a global pandemic treaty
Policies
Compare the parties’ positions on the key issues this election
Candidates
See the electorate candidates running in your local area
Parties
Learn about each political party, its leaders and candidate list
Compare the candidates running in your local area
Each part of the country is represented in Parliament by an electorate MP. We've asked every candidate about their priorities for your community and why they deserve your vote.
