‘You reach a tipping point’: New Zealand’s strained healthcare system at centre of election battle

With care shortfalls biting across the country, the National-led coalition has been accused of letting chronic underfunding worsen

Back when she was healthy, Jane Harrison worked for the community – securing money for playgrounds, getting kids into sport and making sure her small town in New Zealand’s South Island was ready if an earthquake struck.

Now, she and her husband, Shaun Fitzgerald, 65, are both on disability assistance. Last year, when Fitzgerald – a roofer – was waiting for back surgery for spinal stenosis, Harrison left her job to help look after him at home. The operation in August 2025 was not as effective as hoped. He has since been back into the emergency department in intense pain, waiting for hours with severe cramping, she says. “We called the paramedics recently and they said: ‘There’s no beds in hospital, if we take you you’ll have to sit and you clearly can’t, you’re better off at home.’”