Health and education: where every party stands

Prefers lifting the Pharmac budget to 13% by 2033 and letting pharmacists treat more conditions to cut GP demand.

Supports free primary healthcare as part of an 'equitable, accessible and properly supported' system.

Flagship policy, three free GP visits a year via a new 'Medicard', and removing the $5 prescription fee from 1 July 2027.

Prioritises more medicines funding, lowering the bowel screening age to 56 and three-day post-natal stays over universal free GP visits.

Sceptical of the tax needed to fund universal free GP visits, focusing instead on cost-of-living relief and regional health access.

Supports free access to primary care, with a focus on prevention and whānau wellness over crisis response.

David Seymour has called the Māori Health Authority an example of racial discrimination, arguing health services should be allocated on need rather than ethnicity.

Supports restoring Māori-led health commissioning as part of Te Tiriti-based partnership.

Created Te Aka Whai Ora in government and opposed its disestablishment, but has not committed to recreating it in the same form.

Disestablished the Māori Health Authority in government, arguing health services should be delivered on need, not ethnicity.

Strongly opposed to a separate Māori health commissioner, consistent with its 2026 platform of 'one people, one law' and its support for disestablishing Te Aka Whai Ora in government.

Core policy, wants a strengthened Māori-led health authority, arguing Māori-designed services close outcome gaps that mainstream services have not.

Strong supporter of standardised assessment and a knowledge-rich curriculum.

Opposes high-stakes standardised testing, arguing education is 'a public good and a lifelong right, not a commodity'.

Would reverse the coalition's curriculum changes and mandated testing, which it calls the 'politicisation of education'.

Campaigning on a new national qualification to replace NCEA, more funding for maths, reading and writing, and doubling Trades Training Academy places.

Supports a back-to-basics curriculum and is critical of what it calls ideological content in schools.

Opposes standardised testing regimes that it says disadvantage Māori learners, preferring mātauranga Māori integrated throughout learning.

Long-standing signature policy, reintroduced charter schools as part of the coalition agreement.

Opposed, argues public education should not be run on a commercial or competitive model.

Opposed, closed charter schools when last in government and would restore school boards' Treaty of Waitangi obligations.

Supported reintroducing charter schools in coalition, though it is not a headline part of National's own platform.

No strong published position; has historically been sceptical of charter schools while supporting local state schools.

Supports Māori-led educational authority and kaupapa Māori schooling, a form of choice, but grounded in tino rangatiratanga rather than market competition.

Strongly opposed, argues for a smaller, more efficient state and lower taxes.

Explicitly campaigning to tax the super-rich and large corporates to fund critical social services.

Campaigning on a capital gains tax with all revenue ring-fenced for health.

Increasing health and education spending, but within a commitment to low taxes and a return to surplus.

Mixed, supports significant new state spending, but opposes the taxes usually proposed to fund it, favouring state asset revenue instead.

Wants revenue from the wealthiest directed into housing, health, education and whānau support.