National's promise to pay for 13 new cancer treatments has rung hollow after Budget 2024 revealed the drugs would not be funded, leaving patients and advocacy groups distraught.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said in October last year that fighting cancer would be a "priority" for a National government.
A total of $280m was to be spent to fund 13 treatments that would have helped fight bladder, bowel, liver, lung, kidney and head and neck cancers in addition to melanoma.
It was supposed to be funded by reinstating the $5 prescription payment.
When asked why funding was not allocated in yesterday’s Budget, Luxon said it was a "dynamic situation".
"We want to see more drugs made available to New Zealanders to help them, but the reality of this Budget is we couldn't fix six years of mismanagement."
Cancer patient Paul Drummond told 1News for many this was a "life or death decision".
"The fact they have chosen the wealth of some over the health of many I think is really, really sad.
"At the very least, it's a broken promise. It feels like a lie."
Patient advocate Melissa Vining said it was "absolutely despicable" that the promise was not being fulfilled.
"There are people who will literally die as a result of that decision. Regardless of what condition it was left in, their job is to fix it and that's what they promised to do."
Labour's finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds, whose mother died of cancer, said people will be "mad" about the lack of funding.
"I could imagine if you were a child in their shoes, you would be telling all your family and friends to vote for them, to vote for the party that will give cancer drugs to my parent to make them live a little bit longer.
"Of all the broken promises yesterday, that was the worst one for me because I know exactly how they would have felt."
The Budget for beginners: What you need to know about what just happened
5:00am
1:47
Budget 2024: Winners and losers
Thursday 4:25pm
3:23
The 13 drugs promised to be funded were:
- Osimertinib for lung cancer – first-line therapy
- Osimertinib for lung cancer – second-line therapy
- Atezolizumab with bevacizumab for liver cancer
- Cetuximab or panitumumab for bowel cancer – first-line therapy
- Cetuximab for bowel cancer – second-line therapy
- Nivolumab with ipilimumab for kidney cancer – first-line therapy
- Nivolumab for kidney cancer – second-line therapy
- Axitinib for kidney cancer – second-line therapy
- Pembrolizumab for bladder cancer
- Nivolumab for head and neck cancer
- Nivolumab or pembrolizumab for melanoma (adjuvant)
- Dabrafenib with trametinib for melanoma (adjuvant)
- BRAF/MEK inhibitors for melanoma (unresectable)
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