The first step will only take the age from 60 to 58 (Australia’s age of eligibility is 45), but the move means 122,000 New Zealanders will be eligible for free tests in the first year. It’s expected to prevent an additional 771 bowel cancers and an additional 566 bowel cancer deaths over the next 25 years.
“This is the first significant step we are taking to align our screening rate for bowel cancer with Australia as funding and access to additional colonoscopy resource becomes available,” Brown said.
Lowering the age for screening was an election commitment from the National Party – leader Christopher Luxon said in the Newshub leaders debate he wanted to match Australia – but until now the Government’s been reluctant to give a timeframe for when this would happen.
But shortly after meeting with Bowel Cancer NZ on Monday, Brown has now stepped in to get the ball rolling.
“Under our approach, we will be able to prevent 218 additional cancers and 176 additional deaths over 25 years in comparison to the settings proposed by the previous Government.
“This also aligns with the Government’s policy of ensuring that healthcare is delivered on the basis of need.”
The shift will happen in two phases. The first stage will see the age lowered in two of Health NZ’s regions from October this year. The age will then lower in the remaining two ages beginning in March next year. Which regions get the lower age first is yet to be determined by Health NZ.
People will be mailed their kit around their next birthday or be contacted by a local provider, once age extension is introduced in their area.
Health Minister Simeon Brown made the announcement on Thursday. Photo / Mark Mitchell.
Additionally, the Government is also going to fund targeted initiatives to increase screening rates among population groups with low rates of uptake.
“New Zealand has one of the highest rates of bowel cancer globally. Every year, more than 3300 people are diagnosed with bowel cancer in New Zealand. Tragically, more than 1200 Kiwis die from the disease.
The change will be paid for by repurposing $36 million in funding over four years that the previous Government set aside to lower the age to 50 for Māori and Pacific peoples.
Labour’s health spokesperson Dr Ayesha Verrall said the Government was just fulfilling a fraction of its promise to match Australia’s age.
“We need to make sure that those people who screen positive actually get colonoscopies, and that’s very challenged at the moment because of a blowout in the wait lists,” she said.
She said it needed to be accompanied by resources for the teams doing colonoscopies.
“Doing the screening test is not the end of the process. People who screen positive need to go on and get a colonoscopy, and we have seen the waits to get colonoscopies have blown out around the country. There are some places where there is particular pressure, like Palmerston North.”
Act Party leader David Seymour welcomed the move, saying it reflected the Government’s approach to “need, not race”. He was critical of the previous administration for lowering the age for only Māori and Pacific peoples.
“Bowel cancer does not discriminate on race. Māori and Pacific peoples have a similar risk of developing bowel cancer compared to other population groups at a given age.
“It was true that a higher proportion of bowel cancers occur in Māori and Pacific peoples at a younger age, but that is because the overall demographics of those groups are younger. It has always been age that determines bowel cancer risk, not race.”
In May 2022, when Labour announced the move to lower the age for Māori and Pacific peoples, ministers described it as “an example of the system changing to better meet the needs of whānau”.
“A higher proportion of bowel cancer occurs in Māori and Pacific peoples before they reach 60, at approximately 21%, compared to 10% for non-Māori, non-Pacific peoples,” said then-associate Health Minister Peeni Henare.
Verrall said today there was a lot of disappointment about not having the age at 50 for Māori and Pacific peoples.
Jamie Ensor is a political reporter in the NZ Herald Press Gallery team based at Parliament. He was previously a TV reporter and digital producer in the Newshub Press Gallery office.
