RuralFest 2025 Brings Rural Voices to Parliament

Wellington, July 16 – Rural health and community leaders gathered at Parliament today for RuralFest 2025, a powerful event dedicated to amplifying rural voices and shaping the future of health policy in Aotearoa.

Welcomed by blue skies in the capital, attendees shared their priorities, successes, and urgent calls to action directly with members of the Coalition Government and Opposition. The event, hosted by Hauora Taiwhenua’s Rural Communities Chapter, aimed to ensure rural perspectives are front and centre in the lead-up to the 2026 election.

The morning session saw strong representation from the Coalition, with Minister of Health Simeon Brown, Associate Minister of Health (Rural) Matt Doocey, Minister for Rural Communities Mark Patterson, Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour, and National MP Barbara Kuriger attending. Kuriger, described as a key pioneer behind the RuralFest initiative, was instrumental in making the event a reality.

In the afternoon, Dr Ayesha Verrall, Jo Luxton, and Glen Bennett joined the kōrero, offering perspectives from the Opposition benches and reinforcing cross-party engagement on rural health issues.

Throughout the day, discussions focused on the state of rural healthcare, barriers to access, and opportunities for community-led solutions. The event highlighted the need for long-term political commitment to workforce development, equity, and rural-proofed policy.

As the day wrapped up, organisers expressed deep appreciation for the open and solutions-focused conversations. RuralFest 2025 marked a significant step in ensuring that the lived realities of rural Aotearoa are heard, understood, and reflected in the decisions that will shape our nation’s future.

The RuralFest group compiled a new set of actions that we wanted the Government to achieve in the remaining term of this Government. This has now been finalised and we have arranged a meeting in the near future to discuss this list with both Minister Brown and Minister Doocey, and a separate meeting with Ayesha Verrall as the opposition spokesperson for Health. The Action list can be viewed in the article below.

You will see that the action list is focused on improvements in funding for both primary care and rural hospital systems so that rural communities achieve better health outcomes through well-supported primary care teams. These rural primary care teams are interprofessional, and we need to encourage more people from rural areas to follow health careers of all types to make these outcomes a reality.