Health / Medicines, staff and services

What should change in medicines funding, the health workforce and Māori health services?

Pharmac's budget, health staff numbers and Māori health services. Parties differ on each.Pharmac decides which medicines the government pays for, from a budget the government sets each year. Budget 2026 gave it an extra $54 million over four years. Health New Zealand employs most hospital staff, and the government sets how many doctors the medical schools can train; a third medical school, at the University of Waikato, is due to take its first students in 2028. Te Aka Whai Ora, the Māori Health Authority set up in 2022, was closed in 2024, and its work buying kaupapa Māori services moved to Health New Zealand. Parties propose more money for Pharmac, more training and jobs for health workers, and either bringing back a Māori health authority, funding Māori-led providers directly, or keeping one national system. What patients pay for GP visits and prescriptions is compared separately, under GP and prescription costs.

Uneven evidence. Some parties' plans have more published costings or analysis than others. Read what was found

As at 17 October 2026, no independent costing was found for any party's plan on these three questions. ACT has published its own costing of its medicines plan and gives a figure but no funding source for its general practice funding, National gives a figure and a funding source for its Pharmac uplift, and Labour gives a cost and funding source for its graduate nurse guarantee. The Greens and Te Pāti Māori give no amount for more Pharmac funding, the Greens give no cost for paid placements or pay parity, and Te Pāti Māori gives an annual figure for workforce development with no costing. National's workforce and Māori health answers come from its record in government. NZ First's 2026 plan is mostly about prevention and touches only the workforce question. Entries therefore differ in length. This reflects what has been published, not a judgement on the plans.

ViewDepth

Party order is random for each visitor. Tap a party's answer for its full breakdown and sources.Order

Bottom lines on this question

What a party has publicly said it must get, or won't accept, to form or support a government after the election. Only the party's own statements count, quoted with their source. Parties marked Bottom line below have one on that answer.

No bottom line on this question found: ACT, Green, Labour, National, NZ First, Opportunity, Te Pāti Māori (checked 17 Oct 2026)

Every party's bottom lines, on all issues

This question is split into smaller ones. Under each, parties giving the same answer are grouped together.

Medicines funding

4 of 7 parties give an answer

Give Pharmac more money for medicines4 parties

ACT
Raise medicines to Australia's share of health spending by 2033, one point a year.ACT says the medicines budget would reach $5 to $6 billion, paid for from growth in health spending, with no new tax.
Green
Increase sustained Pharmac funding for new medicines and devices; no amount stated.The manifesto gives no figure, target or timetable for the increase.
National
A further $604 million for Pharmac, mainly from cutting foreign aid outside the Pacific.National says the aid cut, which it puts at $431 million over the forecast period, would "largely" pay for the uplift.
Te Pāti Māori
Increase Pharmac funding and protect rongoā Māori; no amount stated.The manifesto gives no figure, target or timetable for the increase.

Not part of its policy: Labour, NZ First, Opportunity

Health workforce

7 of 7 parties give an answer

Guarantee jobs for new graduate nurses1 party

Labour
A job offer for every eligible graduate nurse sitting State Final from July 2026.Labour puts eligible graduates at around 2,400 a year. Roles would be at least 0.8 of full time, offered at graduation from 2027. Labour puts the cost at $525 million.

Train or bring in more health workers6 parties

ACT
$100 million a year for general practice to keep GPs and attract overseas doctors.ACT puts the total at $400 million over four years, on top of normal capitation increases, with measures on pay, extra hours and overseas registration.
Green
$380 a week for students on compulsory nursing and other placements.Plus a $1,500 relocation payment for students who must move for a placement.
National
Record, not a 2026 policy: 100 more medical school places and a Waikato school.National says the Waikato school will train 120 more doctors a year from 2028. Simeon Brown says Health New Zealand intends to offer around 1,800 graduate nurse roles over the coming year.
NZ First
Support GPs by bringing health coaches into primary care.The plan would also reduce administrative burden and restore professional autonomy in general practice; it gives no numbers or cost.
Opportunity
Keep clinicians, expand training places and register overseas-trained staff, in a 10-year plan.The policy paper gives no numbers of staff or training places.
Te Pāti Māori
$1 billion a year for workforce development; expand Māori workforce and training.The manifesto does not say how the $1 billion would be spent or how many staff it would add.

Raise pay or set safe staffing levels1 party

Green
Pay parity for primary care nurses and hauora providers; wage and staffing-level commitments.The manifesto would set safe staffing levels "to support worker wellbeing and quality of care for patients".

Māori health services

6 of 7 parties give an answer

Bring back a Māori health authority1 party

Te Pāti Māori
Re-establish Te Aka Whai Ora and set up a Māori Health Commissioning Agency.It would also legislate a binding Te Tiriti o Waitangi clause and appoint a Te Tiriti Hauora Commissioner.

Fund Māori-led providers directly4 parties

Green
Fund kaupapa Māori approaches; simplify contracts, working with Iwi Māori Partnership Boards.The manifesto says "Hauora Māori and social service providers are underfunded and restricted by overly prescriptive contracts".
Labour
Fund Māori health providers directly, instead of re-establishing Te Aka Whai Ora.Chris Hipkins says Labour wants "that resource directly to the frontline and Māori health providers" and would do more through Iwi Māori Partnership Boards.
Opportunity
Stable multi-year commissioning for kaupapa Māori and iwi-led providers; structure to be agreed.It says "Where community-led delivery works better, it should be funded properly and trusted to lead."
Te Pāti Māori
Transfer 25% of total health and ACC funding to Māori-led systems.The manifesto does not say how the 25% would be calculated or phased in.

Keep one national system2 parties

ACT
Treatment based on individual need, regardless of background.Te Aka Whai Ora closed in 2024, fulfilling a commitment in National's coalition agreement with ACT. ACT describes its other changes as removing "race-based provisions from health law"; the government's 2026 Pae Ora amendment repealed the health sector principles and Health Charter.
National
Record, not a 2026 policy: closed Te Aka Whai Ora; one health system for all.Simeon Brown says "there will always be targeted approaches for different groups" within one national system.

Not part of its policy: NZ First

Each party's whole answer, under the same headings for every party.

ACT

Lift medicines' share of health spending one point a year until 2033.ACT would raise the share of the health budget spent on medicines by one percentage point each year until it matches Australia's in 2033, and set Pharmac's future funding increases in advance. It would pay for this from expected growth in the health budget, and says this needs no new tax and no cut to the rest of the health budget. On Māori health, ACT says treatment should be based on individual need, regardless of background. On the workforce, ACT would put an extra $400 million over four years into general practice to keep GPs, support extra hours and bring in doctors from overseas. The biggest tradeoff: ACT says a fixed path would give Pharmac a budget it can plan around without cutting other health spending, but it has not set out how the rest of each year's growth in the health budget would be shared.

Medicines funding: Give Pharmac more money for medicines. Raise medicines to Australia's share of health spending by 2033, one point a year.ACT says the medicines budget would reach $5 to $6 billion, paid for from growth in health spending, with no new tax.
Health workforce: Train or bring in more health workers. $100 million a year for general practice to keep GPs and attract overseas doctors.ACT puts the total at $400 million over four years, on top of normal capitation increases, with measures on pay, extra hours and overseas registration.
Māori health services: Keep one national system. Treatment based on individual need, regardless of background.Te Aka Whai Ora closed in 2024, fulfilling a commitment in National's coalition agreement with ACT. ACT describes its other changes as removing "race-based provisions from health law"; the government's 2026 Pae Ora amendment repealed the health sector principles and Health Charter.

Green

More Pharmac funding, pay parity, staffing levels and funding for kaupapa Māori care.The Greens would increase sustained funding for Pharmac so it can invest in new medicines and health care devices, with no amount stated. They say they would ensure "fair wages" for health workers, fund pay parity for primary care nurses and hauora providers, and set "safe staffing levels". Students on compulsory nursing and other placements would get $380 a week, plus $1,500 if they must move. The Greens would work with and fund kaupapa Māori approaches, and work with Iwi Māori Partnership Boards and Hauora Māori to simplify funding for providers. They also support Labour's graduate nurse job guarantee. The biggest tradeoff: the Greens say pay parity, safe staffing and paid placements would support health workers and keep students from dropping out of placements, but they have not said how much these would cost or when they would start.

Medicines funding: Give Pharmac more money for medicines. Increase sustained Pharmac funding for new medicines and devices; no amount stated.The manifesto gives no figure, target or timetable for the increase.
Health workforce: Train or bring in more health workers. $380 a week for students on compulsory nursing and other placements.Plus a $1,500 relocation payment for students who must move for a placement.; Raise pay or set safe staffing levels. Pay parity for primary care nurses and hauora providers; wage and staffing-level commitments.The manifesto would set safe staffing levels "to support worker wellbeing and quality of care for patients".
Māori health services: Fund Māori-led providers directly. Fund kaupapa Māori approaches; simplify contracts, working with Iwi Māori Partnership Boards.The manifesto says "Hauora Māori and social service providers are underfunded and restricted by overly prescriptive contracts".

Labour

Guarantee every eligible graduate nurse a job; fund Māori health providers directly.Labour would offer a job in the health system to every eligible New Zealand-trained graduate nurse, which it puts at around 2,400 a year, through the existing hiring schemes. Roles would be at least 0.8 of a full-time position, and from 2027 they would be offered at graduation rather than staggered through the year. It would also double funding for graduate nursing roles in primary and community care, and puts the cost at $525 million, paid from health cost-pressure funding. Labour would not re-establish Te Aka Whai Ora; it would fund Māori health providers directly and build on Iwi Māori Partnership Boards. No 2026 Labour policy on Pharmac funding was found. The biggest tradeoff: Labour says a job offer for every eligible graduate would ease pressure on existing staff; National says paying for it from cost-pressure funding would leave less for other health services.

Medicines funding: Not part of its policy
Health workforce: Guarantee jobs for new graduate nurses. A job offer for every eligible graduate nurse sitting State Final from July 2026.Labour puts eligible graduates at around 2,400 a year. Roles would be at least 0.8 of full time, offered at graduation from 2027. Labour puts the cost at $525 million.
Māori health services: Fund Māori-led providers directly. Fund Māori health providers directly, instead of re-establishing Te Aka Whai Ora.Chris Hipkins says Labour wants "that resource directly to the frontline and Māori health providers" and would do more through Iwi Māori Partnership Boards.

National

A further $604 million for Pharmac; National says cutting foreign aid would mostly fund it.National would add a further $604 million to Pharmac's medicines budget, and says it would pay for this largely by cutting foreign aid outside the Pacific by 10%, with no new taxes. Its workforce and Māori health answers come from its record in government, not from 2026 policy. National says its ministers added 100 first-year medical school places between 2024 and 2026 and approved a new medical school at Waikato. The National-led government closed Te Aka Whai Ora in 2024, and Health Minister Simeon Brown says it is "focused on having one health system for all New Zealanders". The biggest tradeoff: a set sum would fund more medicines without a new tax, National says, but it depends on an aid cut that NZ First opposes and ACT supports, and the policy does not say over how many years it applies.

Medicines funding: Give Pharmac more money for medicines. A further $604 million for Pharmac, mainly from cutting foreign aid outside the Pacific.National says the aid cut, which it puts at $431 million over the forecast period, would "largely" pay for the uplift.
Health workforce: Train or bring in more health workers. Record, not a 2026 policy: 100 more medical school places and a Waikato school.National says the Waikato school will train 120 more doctors a year from 2028. Simeon Brown says Health New Zealand intends to offer around 1,800 graduate nurse roles over the coming year.
Māori health services: Keep one national system. Record, not a 2026 policy: closed Te Aka Whai Ora; one health system for all.Simeon Brown says "there will always be targeted approaches for different groups" within one national system.

NZ First

Bring health coaches into general practice and cut GPs' paperwork; prevention first.NZ First's 2026 health plan, released on 20 September, would shift the focus of healthcare from treating illness to preventing it. On the workforce, it would support GPs by bringing health coaches into primary care, reduce administrative burden and restore professional autonomy in general practice, and find better ways to acknowledge nurses. It has no stated 2026 policy on Pharmac funding or Māori health services; earlier positions are noted below. The biggest tradeoff: NZ First says health coaches would add support for GPs, but the plan gives no numbers, cost or timetable for them.

Medicines funding: Not part of its policy
Health workforce: Train or bring in more health workers. Support GPs by bringing health coaches into primary care.The plan would also reduce administrative burden and restore professional autonomy in general practice; it gives no numbers or cost.
Māori health services: Not part of its policy

Opportunity

Spend new health money first on staff; stable multi-year funding for kaupapa Māori providers.Opportunity wants a cross-party 10-year health plan that raises health funding to 9% of GDP over a decade, from what it says is about 7.4% now. It says the new money would first go on people: keeping the clinicians already here, expanding training places, registering those trained overseas, and building out the wider practice team of nurses, pharmacists, paramedics and mental health workers. On Māori health, it would seek consensus on a durable structure, with stable multi-year commissioning for kaupapa Māori and iwi-led providers and devolution where it improves outcomes. It has no stated policy on Pharmac funding. The biggest tradeoff: Opportunity says a cross-party plan would keep funding steady across changes of government, but it depends on other parties agreeing, and it sets no staff numbers.

Medicines funding: Not part of its policy
Health workforce: Train or bring in more health workers. Keep clinicians, expand training places and register overseas-trained staff, in a 10-year plan.The policy paper gives no numbers of staff or training places.
Māori health services: Fund Māori-led providers directly. Stable multi-year commissioning for kaupapa Māori and iwi-led providers; structure to be agreed.It says "Where community-led delivery works better, it should be funded properly and trusted to lead."

Te Pāti Māori

Re-establish Te Aka Whai Ora; move 25% of health and ACC funding to Māori-led systems.Te Pāti Māori would re-establish Te Aka Whai Ora, set up a Māori Health Commissioning Agency, and transfer 25% of total health and ACC funding to Māori-led systems. It would legislate a binding Te Tiriti o Waitangi clause and appoint a Te Tiriti Hauora Commissioner. It would invest $1 billion a year in workforce development and expand the Māori workforce and training. It would increase Pharmac funding, with no amount stated, and protect rongoā Māori. The biggest tradeoff: Te Pāti Māori says Māori authority over a quarter of health and ACC funding would address Māori health inequities, but the manifesto gives no cost, timetable or detail on how the transfer would work.

Medicines funding: Give Pharmac more money for medicines. Increase Pharmac funding and protect rongoā Māori; no amount stated.The manifesto gives no figure, target or timetable for the increase.
Health workforce: Train or bring in more health workers. $1 billion a year for workforce development; expand Māori workforce and training.The manifesto does not say how the $1 billion would be spent or how many staff it would add.
Māori health services: Bring back a Māori health authority. Re-establish Te Aka Whai Ora and set up a Māori Health Commissioning Agency.It would also legislate a binding Te Tiriti o Waitangi clause and appoint a Te Tiriti Hauora Commissioner.; Fund Māori-led providers directly. Transfer 25% of total health and ACC funding to Māori-led systems.The manifesto does not say how the 25% would be calculated or phased in.

Background and sources

How this relates to GP and prescription costs. The GP and prescription costs issue compares what patients pay to see a GP or collect a prescription. This issue compares three other questions that most parties have a 2026 policy on: how much the government spends on medicines through Pharmac, how it would grow and keep the health workforce, and how services for Māori are organised and funded. Labour's Family Doctor Loan Scheme, which helps GPs buy into practices, is part of its plan to make GP appointments easier to get and is covered under GP and prescription costs.

Medicines. Pharmac assesses medicines and decides which ones are funded, within the budget the government gives it. Breast Cancer Foundation NZ says Budget 2026 gave "an additional $54 million for Pharmac over four years", which it says "does not meaningfully improve access to new medicines" (Breast Cancer Foundation NZ). ACT says New Zealand spends 4.9% of its health budget on medicines, against 12.2% in Australia and an OECD average of 13.3%, and that Australia funds 142 modern medicines New Zealand does not (ACT); these are ACT's figures. ACT's policy document puts the 2026/27 medicines budget at about $1.8 billion (ACT).

Workforce. The government lifted the cap on first-year medical school places to 639 a year in 2026, 100 more than when it took office, and 531 new doctors started work in January 2026 (National). The Waikato medical school, approved by Cabinet in July 2025 with $82.85 million of government funding, is to train 120 more doctors a year from 2028 (National). Health Minister Simeon Brown says Health New Zealand intends to offer around 1,800 graduate nurse roles over the coming year, after 1,716 offers the year before (National). Labour says around 2,400 nurses graduate each year and that in 2025 fewer than half were initially offered jobs through the main hiring scheme (Labour). Writing about all parties' plans, Frank Frizelle, Editor-in-Chief of the New Zealand Medical Journal, says "Workforce may be the greatest constraint on almost every promise" (NZMJ).

Māori health services. Te Aka Whai Ora was set up in 2022 alongside Health New Zealand. The National-led government introduced a bill to close it in February 2024, fulfilling a commitment made under its coalition agreements with ACT and NZ First, and it was to be disestablished by 30 June 2024; Iwi Māori Partnership Boards remained (1News). The law passed under urgency and moved the commissioning of kaupapa Māori services to Health New Zealand (Buddle Findlay). In July 2026 the Healthy Futures (Pae Ora) Amendment Act required health entities to give effect to the government's health targets and repealed the health sector principles and Health Charter (National); at its second reading, Māori health advocates said the bill limits the role of Iwi Māori Partnership Boards (Te Ao Māori News). Of Te Pāti Māori's plan and the other parties', Frizelle writes: "The disagreement is not simply about expenditure but about governance and how best to achieve equity" (NZMJ).

Positions from before 2026. NZ First's 2023 policies, still on its website, would replace Pharmac with a new agency and add $1.3 billion for medicines, recruit more doctors (about 2,000, the NZMJ editorial says), and keep "a single health system for all based on need not race" (NZ First); its 2026 health plan does not repeat them, and the NZMJ editorial describes them as part of NZ First's programme. In 2023 Labour pledged more than $1 billion for Pharmac over four years (1News); no 2026 Labour policy on Pharmac funding was found. In 2024 the Greens opposed closing Te Aka Whai Ora (Green Party); their 2026 manifesto does not say whether they would restore it. Following this site's rule, positions last stated before 2026 are mentioned in each party's entry but do not count as its answer.

Related health policies not compared here. Several parties have health policies outside these three questions: cancer screening (Labour, National and Te Pāti Māori), comprehensive cancer centres (ACT), prevention and nutrition (NZ First, Opportunity and Te Pāti Māori), mental health (the Greens and Te Pāti Māori), dental care (the Greens and Te Pāti Māori), more care in pharmacies (ACT and the Greens) and the overall level of health funding (Opportunity). These are noted in each party's entry where relevant but not compared here.