AUT Professor calls for NZ health reform
AUT Professor of Public Health Dr Grant Schofield has launched a petition seeking reforms of the New Zealand health system.
His aim is to get 100,000 signatures in the next three months and then submit the petition to the Prime Minister, the Minister of Health and the Minister for Sport and Recreation.
Grant, who is also director of the Human Potential Centre, says the current health system is broken and a radical shift is needed towards prevention, lifestyle medicine, and accountability.
“I’ve dedicated my entire career to one mission – helping people live healthier, longer lives. But right now, New Zealand is heading in the wrong direction. Chronic disease, mental health struggles, and medication dependence are rising, yet there’s little public debate about what really matters – our actual health.
“What about preventing illness in the first place? Where is the national conversation about stopping type 2 diabetes before it starts, prioritising mental well-being, or reducing our reliance on medications?”
Grant says public pressure is required for change and that’s why he’s put together a bold policy for health reform – one that all sides of politics should support because it simply makes sense.
“This policy marks a fundamental shift towards prevention, early intervention, and lifestyle-based health solutions. We need to prioritise nutrition, physical activity, and mental well-being, while ensuring greater transparency and scientific integrity in health policy.
“By redirecting health funding to prevention and expanding support for community-based health initiatives, we aim to increase life expectancy, reduce preventable diseases, and improve the quality of life for all New Zealanders.”
Key initiatives include:
- Investing in prevention: A minimum 15% of the health budget will be allocated to chronic disease prevention and 5% to mental health services.
- Reforming food policy: Stronger nutrition labelling, reduced unhealthy food marketing, and ultra-processed food tax measures.
- Reducing medication reliance: Encouraging “social prescribing” so GPs can refer patients to exercise, nutrition support, and mental health therapy before medication.
- Expanding public health workforce: Training more health coaches and lifestyle medicine experts to support behaviour change.
- Ensuring accountability: A National Health Reform Taskforce with executive powers will monitor progress, report on key health indicators, and adjust strategies as needed.
Backing Grant’s petition are statistics such as:
- One in three NZ adults are classified as obese, as are 12% of children aged 2 to 14
- 5% of the NZ population now has type 2 diabetes
- One New Zealander dies from heart disease every 90 minutes
- Only 1 in 10 adults eats the recommended daily intake of vegetables, and only half meet fruit intake recommendations. Amongst children, 94% don’t eat the daily vegetables they need
- Only 52% of NZ adults get the recommended 2.5 hours of moderate physical activity per week, with about 13% doing no exercise at all. And among 5 to 17-year-olds, 93% don’t get the recommended hour per day
- NZ has one of the highest youth suicide rates among OECD countries
- The number of people accessing mental health and addiction services has grown by 73% in the past decade
- Prescriptions for mental health medications increased by 50% in the past 10 years
- The annual economic cost of serious mental illness, including addiction, in NZ is estimated at about $12 billion, around 5% of GDP
- While smoking rates have declined in recent decades, smoking still causes an estimated 5,000 deaths per year in NZ, about 12 per day
“The foundation of a healthy society lies in good nutrition and an active lifestyle. The data makes clear that we must do better in promoting healthy habits. By improving diets, increasing physical activity, and reducing harmful substance use, New Zealand can dramatically cut rates of chronic disease and improve mental wellbeing. These preventive approaches are far more cost-effective and beneficial long-term than treating diseases after they develop,” says Grant.
“We need to change the trajectory of health in New Zealand. Simply doing more of the same is not enough. New Zealand must pivot from a disease-treatment model to a true health-centred model. By tackling the root causes of our declining health trends – poor diet, inactivity, inequity, and a lack of preventive focus – we aim to secure a healthier future for all citizens.”
To find out more, and sign the petition, go to: Executive policy on National Health Reform in New Zealand - PREKURE