National Unveils Election Policies: Foreign Aid Cut to Boost Pharmac, 47-Point Small Business Plan
New Zealand's governing National Party released several election policies on 7 October 2026. 1News and RNZ reported that day that National would cut foreign aid to increase the medicines budget of Pharmac, the national drug-buying agency, and that the party also unveiled a 47-point plan for small business. Both announcements came exactly one month before polling day on 7 November.
Pharmac funding and access to medicines are among the central issues of the campaign. Two days earlier, Pharmac had announced expanded funded access to cancer treatments for adolescents and young adults. Linking the aid budget to the medicines budget was presented by the governing party as a response to criticism that expensive new medicines are funded too slowly; opposition parties questioned the cost to New Zealand's influence in the Pacific.
Polling coverage the same day showed National edging up while Labour held steady, and New Zealand First leader Winston Peters criticised National's Pharmac plan. Results vary between polling firms, and the race remains unsettled.
Overseas voting starts on 21 October and advance voting on 26 October. In the final month, the parties are releasing policies at pace, with health, tax and the cost of living widely treated as the issues most likely to move undecided voters.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图片 Image: Beehive and Parliament House - Wellington - New Zealand - DSC00165.jpg by Daderot (CC0，经维基共享资源）/ via Wikimedia Commons
