National targets foreign aid to pay for new medicines, sets up battle with Peters

National will inject an extra $600 million into New Zealand’s medicines budget, partly paid for by a sizeable cut to foreign aid. 

It will also force the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) to make savings like other agencies in the public service. 

That’s likely to bring National into NZ First leader Winston Peters’ firing line. Peters, the Foreign Affairs Minister, has this term protected his ministry from cuts similar to other agencies. 

Health spokesman Simeon Brown said Kiwis are “generous people” but National believed more of their “hard-earned money should be spent here at home”. 

“When National came into Government, Labour had left behind a funding cliff in Pharmac’s budget,” Brown said. 

“We filled that gap, then went further with a record $604 million investment, delivering 66 new medicines benefiting hundreds of thousands of Kiwis, including 33 new cancer treatments.” 

With new treatments becoming available overseas every year, National wants to invest another $604m to help Pharmac fund new medicines and widen access to those already funded. 

“We will largely pay for it by reducing foreign aid and associated administration costs by 10%, while fully protecting aid to the Pacific.” 

National’s costings show the Pharmac Budget uplift will cost $151 million annually ($604m over the forecast period). 

The foreign aid reduction will save $107.8m annually ($431.2m over four years). 

Aid to the Pacific, which National says makes up about 66% of New Zealand’s International Development Cooperation (IDC) budget, will be fully protected. 

National’s also targeting MFAT for savings after the agency was largely protected from cuts this term. 

It had been exempt from the 2% baseline saving exercise at the Budget, but was included in future savings targets of 5% in the next two Budgets. 

Peters has said decisions on MFAT’s budget would be decided after the election. 

A spokesperson for Peters told the Herald in July that his position was well known. 

“He believes MFAT needs to be appropriately funded so that our ambitious international objectives can be achieved, should not be subject to baseline and headcount reductions, and that these issues will be taken forward via discussions following the election.” 

National’s policy document says MFAT will be brought “into line with the rest of the public sector, catching up through a 2% baseline expenditure reduction that saves a further $45.6 million over the forecast period”. 

The Budget estimated the future 10% savings for MFAT to be worth about $143m. 

Elsewhere in National’s latest policy is a promise to set a national target for clinical trials in New Zealand and unlock CAR-T cell therapy. 

“Clinical trials and CAR-T also give New Zealanders access to cutting-edge treatments, often years before they would otherwise be available,” Brown said. 

“For someone facing cancer or a rare disorder, that can mean real hope when other options have run out.” 

It’s also set a date for when it wants the free bowel screening age to be lowered to 50: 2029. 

National has been wanting to match Australia’s age of 50, but there’s been slow progress. It was lowered this year from 58 to 56. 

A re-elected National would also complete the free breast screening extension to 74 by 2029 and launch new screening pilots for prostate and lung cancer. 

“National has already lowered the bowel screening age twice in just a year, from 60 to 58 and now to 56, moving as fast as we safely can. 

“We will keep going until we reach 50 by 2029, with more colonoscopy capacity to match. 

“For women, we are making cervical screening free for those aged 25 to 69 and finishing the job of extending free breast screening to 74. 

“But there is still no organised screening programme for prostate cancer, the most common cancer in New Zealand men, or for lung cancer, our biggest cancer killer. 

“The pilots will test the best way to screen for both, building the evidence for potential nationwide programmes.” 

“Beyond cancer, the Healthy Kiwis Programme will help stop chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes before they start, with a target to double the number of people receiving active prescriptions by 2030.” 

National’s Prevention Package would be funded through existing health baseline funding and future operating allowances. 

Jamie Ensor is the NZ Herald’s chief political reporter, based in the press gallery at Parliament. He was previously a TV reporter and digital producer in the Newshub press gallery office. He was a finalist in 2025 for Political Journalist of the Year at the Voyager Media Awards.