National under Christopher Luxon and deputy leader Nicola Willis will struggle to attract female voters, says Lizzie Marvelly. Photo / Mark Mitchell
National under Christopher Luxon and deputy leader Nicola Willis will struggle to attract female voters, says Lizzie Marvelly. Photo / Mark Mitchell
OPINION
When National Party leader Christopher Luxon yesterday confirmed that his party would bring back the $5 prescription fee for women using contraceptive pills, you could almost hear the thud of a political adviser’s head hitting a desk in the background. It’s one thing to have a reporter hand youa noose, it’s another thing to promptly hang yourself with it.
It would’ve been an easy win to announce a carve-out provision for all prescription contraceptive products.
Since National decided to plough ahead with its miserly plan to reintroduce the recently scrapped $5 prescription fee, the question of regular prescription contraceptives has hung in the air. A return to the unpopular prescription fees will mean a return to an inequitable system. Luxon didn’t create the inequity in the first place, but his comments on Wednesday showed voters – particularly female voters – that he has no problem with a regime that penalises women unfairly.
The burden of birth control has long fallen disproportionately on women and those who menstruate. The cost of regular prescriptions for contraceptives (and the GP visits that precede them) is only the tip of the iceberg. Women in heterosexual relationships are often simply expected to take care of contraception themselves. Not only do they have to take medications that alter their hormone levels and occasionally cause a raft of side effects, under the current system, they’re the ones paying for the privilege.
The use of oral contraceptive pills isn’t confined to contraceptive purposes. They’re also helpful to reduce the symptoms of ailments like endometriosis, acne and even rheumatoid arthritis. A number of people are dependent on them to avoid extreme menstrual pain.
Prescription oral contraceptives are hardly uncommon. I took them daily for a decade. Most women I know have taken them at some point in their lives. The most recent figures I could find showed that in 2018, 8.2 per cent of women aged 10-54 used oral contraceptives regularly. Close to 15 per cent had been dispensed oral contraceptives at least once.
There is no male equivalent drug that is prescribed so commonly. Viagra doesn’t even come close. Ministry of Health data showed that 1616 New Zealand men accessed the erection drug in 2018. During the same year, 120,370 New Zealand women accessed regular contraceptive pills. That’s a lot of women paying prescription fees regularly.
Christopher Luxon's National is off-track with their stance on prescription fees, writes Lizzie Marvelly.
It’s obvious that there’s a discrepancy. With the removal of prescription fees, this particular inconsistency is remedied. Looking forward, GP consultations relating to contraception should be made free, another inequity that could be addressed in the next Budget. Rather than moving forwards, however, National seems hell-bent on taking the country backwards.
Over recent weeks, the party seems to have developed a case of foot-in-mouth disease.
While National’s recent statements may appeal to voters on the fringe, a far greater number of voters in the middle will find them disappointing. It seems like National is currently focusing on winning back votes from Act, rather than appealing to the centrist voters it will need to swing to win the election. Many of these voters are women - who have paid a large number of prescription fees for oral contraceptives.
What I can’t understand is why National continues to flog a dead horse over $5. I’ve yet to meet someone who wants to continue to pay $5 every time they fill a prescription, and this latest round of publicity around contraceptives has propelled the unpopular policy back into the headlines. The stench of said deceased equine grows fouler with each airing - so why cling to it?
At a time when the cost of living is soaring, and the country faces real problems with disaster readiness, ageing infrastructure, crime, and understaffed hospitals, there are plenty of real issues for the Opposition to attack the Government on. Less than five months out from the election, National should be talking to voters about what they’re going to do to make their lives easier. Bringing back prescription charges will only make their lives harder – and disproportionately so for many women who rely on oral contraceptives.
It’s clear that the party has a comms problem.
Knee-jerk reactions, flip-flopping, and being seemingly incapable of abandoning unpopular policy decisions won’t help voters to give their valuable ticks to the blue team come October.
