“In Australia, at the same time, it was 422 days. For someone with life-limiting cancer, the potential impact of more than a thousand days is really significant. New Zealanders simply don’t get access to cancer treatments that people in similar countries get. It’s a problem that’s existed for a while now, and it’s a growing community concern.”
In its manifesto for this year, the Cancer Society has called for some significant changes to Pharmac to enable people to get access to the drugs they need.
Hart puts this down two fundamental problems: first, you have the issue of slow processes and the time it takes to fund medicines; and secondly, we have significant underfunding of medicines that cancer patients need to survive.
The Cancer Society has suggested a three-pronged approach, which would involve fast-tracking processes to ensure more timely access to medicines, updating the budget approach to make more funding available and, finally, ensuring that there’s more clarity on how decisions are actually made.
The divide between Australia and New Zealand isn’t only evident in the treatment of those who have cancer. It is actually also reflected earlier in the preventative phase of healthcare policy, says Hart.
Pointing to the example of skin cancer, Hart says the Australian approach shows what’s possible when the money is invested in the right places.
“Our Australian neighbours have shown that through serious investment and strategic commitment to skin cancer prevention, they’ve been able to bring down melanoma rates, particularly in younger age groups,” says Hart.
“Here in New Zealand, melanoma rates haven’t changed in 20 years and we have the highest mortality rate in the world… In 2006, the Government was putting in $1.2 million per year, but this year, they’ve got $200,000… In stark contrast, the Australian Government recently announced a $10m investment in a national skin cancer prevention campaign over two summers.”
- So, what else can New Zealand do to better fight cancer?
- Do we need to start talking a lot more about alcohol consumption?
- Does New Zealand need a dedicated cancer hospital?
- And how can our early detection approaches be improved?
Listen to the full episode of The Front Page podcast for a broader discussion on all these issues.
The Front Page is a daily news podcast from the New Zealand Herald, available to listen to every weekday from 5am. It is presented by Damien Venuto, an Auckland-based journalist with a background in business reporting who joined the Herald in 2017.
You can follow the podcast at iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
