It’s great to be back in New Zealand after a packed schedule in Malaysia and Korea last week meeting political leaders, investors, and trade partners.

When you’re a small island country like New Zealand, you have to be out competing on the world stage opening up new markets and looking for fresh opportunities.

So, when job number one for our Government is rebuilding the economy, hustling for more trade and investment overseas as Prime Minister is non-negotiable.
A New Zealand Prime Minister last visited Korea and Malaysia in 2015 – both big markets and big regional players that deserve our attention and focus.

And now back home the hard work continues – strengthening those ties with partners in the region, supporting our entrepreneurs to lift their profile offshore, and driving our reform programme forward to unleash investment and rebuild the economy.

Of course, it is only with a strong economy that New Zealand can afford to invest more in the quality public services that Kiwis rely on – like more police on the beat, better schools, and improved access to healthcare.
It’s the latter point that I want to touch on more today. In June, our Government announced a transformative investment in Pharmac to fund life-saving medications, including cancer treatments.
On Monday, I was pleased to officially confirm two vitally important cancer medicines will be funded by Pharmac from 1 October – the first treatments to be funded as a direct result of this record investment.
From 1 October, Keytruda will be funded for eligible people with five different types of cancer at different points in their treatment – including advanced triple-negative breast cancer, head and neck cancer, colorectal cancer, bladder cancer and Hodgkin lymphoma.
Pharmac also announced that Opdivo, which treats kidney cancer, will be funded from our investment from 1 November.
This is life-changing news for the thousands of Kiwis and their families whose lives are affected by cancer.
Pharmac estimates that 600 eligible people will have access to Keytruda and Opdivo in the first year and that will rise to 2,300 over five years.
Cancer causes distress and heartbreak to thousands of Kiwis and their families every year. It is responsible for around 31 per cent of all deaths in New Zealand.
That’s why National campaigned on delivering 13 more cancer treatments when we reached Government.

Since coming to Government, we’ve gone much further – through an unprecedented boost for Pharmac of $604 million over four years, up to 26 new life-extending cancer treatments are being made available for Kiwis who need them.

I want to thank each and every New Zealander who has shared their health journey with me – it’s always important to hear first-hand the impact decisions like these have on people’s lives.
Improving access to cancer medicines is only one of the ways we’re delivering better treatment for Kiwis with cancer.
We’ve set a target of 90 per cent of patients receiving cancer management within 31 days of the decision to treat.
We have also committed to increasing breast screening eligibility to 74-year-olds, funded PET scanning accessibility for prostate cancer, expanded infusion services in Whanganui and Wairoa, invested in a new radiotherapy machine at Whangārei Hospital, and provided an extra $18 million a year to help people who need to travel for treatments like cancer.
This Government is focused on tangible outcomes for New Zealanders, improving the public services you rely on.
Actions like these reinforce that we’re a Government committed to delivering on health, and specifically around cancer which we know affects so many New Zealanders and their families each year. -Christopher Luxon, Prime Minister of New Zealand