“The real test of health policy is not aspiration but performanc - whether people can access timely, affordable care in practice, and whether inequities are genuinely reduced.”

Letters to the editor remain one of the simplest and most effective ways to influence public debate. Newspapers still pay close attention to what readers are saying, and published letters help signal to editors, journalists and politicians that an issue matters to the public.

These tips written by Marnie Prickett, will help you write letters that are more likely to be published and more likely to have an impact.

On 5 May 2025, Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden introduced and passed sweeping amendments to the Equal Pay Act 1972 under urgency in a single day.

There was no select committee scrutiny, no public consultation, and no Regulatory Impact Statement.

The People’s Select Committee concluded that this approach offended the rule of law and the principles of good lawmaking.

Some changes to the Pae Ora health law are raising concerns among Māori health leaders and others across the health sector.

Iwi Māori Partnership Boards were set up so local iwi could help keep an eye on how the health system is performing for Māori communities. The Government is now proposing amendments that would reduce their role and remove some of the equity and Te Tiriti expertise currently built into the system.

New Ipsos data shows healthcare remains one of New Zealanders’ top concerns heading into the election, ranking second overall and first for over-65s. Dr David Galler says the findings reflect growing pressure across access, workforce and funding, and warns current policy settings risk long-term consequences for public health.

New figures show 14.3 per cent of children in Aotearoa, nearly 170,000 tamariki, are living in material hardship, the highest level in a decade. Kaitiaki Hauora says child poverty and health cannot be separated, and that underinvestment in income support, housing and primary care is entrenching inequitable health outcomes.

Nearly half of adults in Aotearoa can’t afford dental care. A new Dental for All report looks at eight overseas models and shows another way is possible.

Speaking on Morning Report, former Health NZ Board Chair and Kaitiaki Hauora chair Rob Campbell said health inflation is not a short-term spike but a long-standing global trend. Simply matching general CPI increases will not maintain services, he said, as workforce pressures, ageing populations and new medical technologies continue to drive rising costs.

New Zealand cannot afford to have so many of its people in poor health. Investment in public health provision is an economic strategy.

Dr David Galler and Gail Duncan appeared before the Finance and Expenditure Select Committee to present Kaitiaki Hauora’s submission on the economic imperative of investing in public health ahead of Budget 2026.

Health investment must reach every region.

Wairoa has no aged care or dialysis services and struggles to attract doctors. It is one example of the pressures facing many regional communities.

Hospital investment must increase and support both major city hospitals and services scaled to regional health needs.

Recognition is welcome. Funding is essential.

The Infrastructure Commission has sent a very clear message. Aotearoa New Zealand has not made the ongoing investments needed to keep up with the health infrastructure demands of a growing and ageing population.

The possible sale of Mercy Hospital raises questions not just for patients and staff, but also about how private healthcare fits alongside an already under-resourced public health system.

When more public money is directed into private care, the flow-on effects are staffing, access, equity, and who ends up waiting even longer.

Retired physician Gary Nicholls argues that decades of underfunding and creeping privatisation have weakened public healthcare, welcoming the formation of Kaitiaki Hauora as a much-needed, common-sense response.

Health New Zealand’s annual report shows savings achieved through underspending on staff and infrastructure, while wait times grow and workforce strain deepens. This is not recovery, but managed decline, with public funds increasingly flowing to private providers instead of strengthening public hospitals.

Treasury’s rare warning about the state of New Zealand’s hospitals echoes what patients and frontline health workers have been saying for years. Malcolm Mulholland, patient spokesperson for Kaitiaki Hauora, welcomed the comments: “We now have the words of Treasury. We just need the will of politicians to put money where their mouths are.”

Rob Campbell caught up with Dr Gary Payinda to talk about why properly funding public healthcare, resisting privatisation, and honouring Te Tiriti obligations matter now more than ever.

Louisa Wall is the chair of the Tūwharetoa Iwi Māori Partnership Board, and an executive member of Kaitiaki Hauora, a health group campaigning against privatisation of the health system.

OPINION: Health Minister Simeon Brown’s directive to Health New Zealand to expand the outsourcing of elective surgeries and to lock that outsourcing into longer term private contracts is being framed as pragmatic and necessary. From a Te Tiriti o Waitangi perspective, it is neither.

Image: A healthcare worker pictured at Parawera Marae near Te Awamutu, which operated as a vaccination centre during the Covid pandemic. (File photo) MARK TAYLOR

Health leaders, economists and unionists have founded Kaitiaki Hauora – Together for Public Health to make retention of the public health system the country’s top election priority.

Long waits, corridor care, and exhausted staff are not isolated failures butthe result of a health system under sustained pressure from unmet demand in the community. Dr David Galler explains why Emergency Departments have become pinch points, and why fixing them requires far more than short-term funding or political statements.

Dr David Galler was invited to speak with Bernard Hickey and Peter Bale on The Hoon today about the formation and launch of Kaitiaki Hauora, its three core goals, and why shifting funding around won’t fix a health system already under serious strain. David joins at 51.20 - tune in!