I am a Registered Nurse and live in Ōmārama, a small rural town in the South Island with a population of roughly 300. My nursing career spans more than thirty years, covering secondary, primary and aged care sectors, Māori health, management and governance, serving for twelve years as an elected member of the Wairarapa District Health Board. After some time away from frontline nursing, I have returned and am now working as a practice nurse while also pursuing postgraduate study. I work at Kurow Medical Centre, where our team provides care in Kurow, Twizel, and the Omarama Community Centre. This experience has truly reignited my passion for primary care.

With the storms continuing unabated across New Zealand, the soils are saturated. Northland, Auckland, Waikato, Nelson, Marlborough seem to have taken the brunt of the wind and rain. It is increasing difficult to find some where to feed the animals without creating more mud. The grass is growing; however, the animals are walking into the ground more than they are consuming currently. A feed shortage could be on the cards as farmers use more conserved feed because of the current conditions in late July and August.

We’re thrilled to announce the recipients of two exciting student opportunities made possible through our partnership with Spark Health. After receiving a large number of outstanding applications, we’re proud to introduce Chanel Brocherie, who will represent Hauora Taiwhenua at the HLTH USA 2025 Conference in Las Vegas, and Cameron Dickey, who has been selected as runner-up and will attend the Spark Accelerate 2025 summit in Auckland.

When the University of Otago launched the Rural Medical Immersion Programme (RMIP) in 2007, it was a bold experiment. Could a small group of medical students really learn just as much, if not more, by spending a year in rural communities, far from the teaching hospitals of New Zealand’s main centres?

Dr Jo Scott-Jones, one of New Zealand’s most respected rural health leaders, has been selected to deliver the John MacLeod Oration at the 2026 WONCA World Rural Health Conference, to be held in Aotearoa, New Zealand.   The John MacLeod Oration is a distinguished international recognition in rural medicine, acknowledging exceptional contributions to advancing healthcare for rural communities. Previous orators include prominent figures in rural health, such as Professor Ian Couper, Professor Roger Strasser, John Wynn-Jones, Bruce Chater, and Dora Bernal.  

We have reviewed the current Amendment Bill, utilising the Rural-Proofing principles, to develop the recommendations contained in this submission. Our submission identifies clauses within the Amendment Bill that either: a) We agree with and recommend are adopted without change; or b) We disagree with and would accept with changes that we have submitted; or c) We disagree with and recommend should be deleted. All our comments are written with the express purpose of designing Health legislation that will positively impact the health outcomes of all of New Zealanders, including the 20% that live in rural and remote regions.