Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

GenPro has today (May 18) released its Election 2026 Policy Agenda, calling on all political parties to commit to strengthening general practice as the cornerstone of a high-performing and sustainable health system in New Zealand.

The manifesto sets out a comprehensive package of evidence-based reforms designed to improve patient access, reduce hospital pressure, support the healthcare workforce, and restore financial sustainability to general practice.

“General practice is the foundation of an effective health system,” says GenPro chair Dr Angus Chambers. “When patients can access timely care from a trusted GP, outcomes improve, pressure on hospitals reduces, and public health funding is used more efficiently.”

The policy agenda aligns closely with the Government’s five national health priorities: Access, Timeliness, Quality, Workforce, and Infrastructure. Key recommendations are:

A minimum cumulative 30 percent increase in general practice funding over three years to restore financial sustainability across the sector.
Increased investment in primary care from the current 6% of Vote Health toward international WHO/OECD benchmarks of approximately 14% of total health expenditure.
An improved independent cost pressure adjustment mechanism to prevent real term erosion of practice income.
Separation between the funder and provider of health services  – currently Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand – to ensure impartial allocation of health budget across the sector.
Mandatory consultation with general practice representatives on major health funding and service design decisions.
Workforce initiatives to attract and retain GPs and nurses, including support for recruitment, ownership pathways, and overseas clinician integration.
Increased investment in rural healthcare, after-hours services, digital infrastructure, and clinician support.

Dr Chambers says the manifesto is not simply about supporting one part of the healthcare sector, but about protecting the long-term sustainability of the entire health system.

“For too long, general practice has been expected to absorb rising costs and growing patient demand without adequate investment,” he says. “If we want affordable, accessible healthcare for New Zealanders, we must strengthen the frontline of the system.”

Changes are required to restore general practice – a New Zealand Medical Students' Association survey foundthat only 14% of students are interested in becoming GPs; experienced GPs are no longer recommending the specialty to trainee doctors; and general practices are struggling to recruit enough doctors as nine out of 10 are increasing patient fees to stay afloat.

Dr Chambers added that continuity of care and independent community-based practices remain essential to achieving better patient outcomes.

“Patients value ongoing relationships with their GP. Continuity of care saves lives, reduces hospital admissions, and improves the quality of healthcare delivery. This must remain central to future policy decisions.”

GenPro is urging all political parties contesting the November election to adopt policies that prioritise frontline primary healthcare and ensure New Zealanders continue to have access to affordable, high-quality general practice care.

“Investing in general practice is the most effective way to improve health outcomes while controlling costs across the wider system,” Dr Chambers says. “This is not just a sector issue — it is a national priority.”

May 15 2026 – Donald Trump leaves Beijing declaring success after two days of high-level talks with Xi Jinping, but the absence of concrete detail from the summit between the leaders of the world's two largest economies is where investors should focus their attention, according to Nigel Green, CEO of deVere Group.

“The headlines sound reassuring, but the substance underneath them remains remarkably thin.

“Markets heard promises of stronger ties, major purchases and stabilised relations. What they did NOT hear was, perhaps, far more important.”

Trump claimed China would buy 200 Boeing aircraft, alongside significant increases in purchases of US agricultural goods and energy exports. Yet no formal agreement has been released publicly by Beijing, no timetable has emerged, and no financial framework has been disclosed.

“Global investors are being asked to price optimism without documentation,” notes the deVere CEO.

“Aviation orders, agricultural commitments, and trade pledges only matter if there's enforceable detail attached to them. Right now, there's very little of that.”

US-China trade exceeded $575 billion last year despite years of tariffs, export controls and strategic hostility.

China remains central to global manufacturing supply chains, while the US remains one of China's most important export destinations. Financial markets have been desperate for signs that tensions between Washington and Beijing are easing in a meaningful way.

Nigel Green argues the summit delivered optics rather than resolution.

“Unfortunately, there was no serious public breakthrough on tariffs, semiconductors, export controls, rare earth minerals or industrial subsidies,” he says.

“Those are the core disputes shaping the economic relationship. None of them disappeared because the language between the two leaders softened.”

Rare earths remain among the most strategically sensitive issues.

China controls roughly 70% of global rare earth production and close to 90% of processing capacity. Those materials are essential for semiconductors, EVs, military systems, aerospace manufacturing and advanced tech infrastructure.

Yet despite months of pressure from US industry groups and mounting concern over supply-chain vulnerabilities, the summit produced no detailed framework around future access or export guarantees.

“Rare earths sit at the centre of the global industrial race,” explains Nigel Green. “Washington wanted stability. Markets wanted visibility. Neither emerged from Beijing.”

Semiconductors represent another major silence.

The US continues restrictions on advanced AI chip exports to China, while Beijing accelerates efforts to build domestic alternatives and reduce reliance on American tech.

The deVere chief executive says the omission carries enormous implications for investors globally.

“AI has become one of the most powerful investment themes in the world economy,” he says.

“But the infrastructure behind AI is increasingly shaped by geopolitical confrontation. The summit offered no indication that either side is prepared to retreat.”

Taiwan also remained unresolved beneath the diplomatic theatre.

Xi Jinping reportedly reiterated Beijing's hardline position during private discussions, while Trump avoided major public escalation. Markets interpreted the restraint positively, but Nigel Green warns the underlying tensions remain acute.

“Taiwan is one of the single biggest geopolitical risk factors facing global markets. Any deterioration would instantly hit semiconductors, shipping routes, defence spending, commodity prices and global equities.”

The summit also failed to produce meaningful clarity around the future of tariffs imposed during the original US-China trade war.

Average US tariffs on many Chinese goods remain significantly above pre-2018 levels, while Beijing has maintained retaliatory measures across multiple sectors. Global manufacturers have spent years restructuring supply chains around the uncertainty.

Nigel Green says businesses were hoping for a clearer direction.

“Corporate leaders wanted evidence of a longer-term framework for economic engagement,” he says.

“Instead, they received broad political language designed to calm sentiment without addressing the structural fractures underneath.”

He also points to the contradictions inside the economic announcements themselves.

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer spoke about large future agricultural purchases from China, while Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested some key commodity arrangements had already effectively been settled under earlier agreements.

“Mixed messaging creates more uncertainty, not less,” concludes Nigel Green.

“Washington and Beijing may have lowered the temperature publicly, but the unresolved economic conflict beneath the surface remains very much alive.”

deVere Group is one of the world's largest independent advisors of specialist global financial solutions to international, local mass affluent, and high-net-worth clients.  It has a network of offices around the world, more than 80,000 clients, and $14bn under advisement.

MEDITERRANEAN SEA – Once again, the Israeli regime has started its propaganda engine as the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) sails towards Gaza. The timing is not accidental; it is part of their playbook of depraved tactics to justify another crime and potential deadly force—the same playbook that has allowed them to operate their apartheid regime for nearly 80 years and carry out genocide and ethnic cleansing against the Palestinian people.

Israeli regime-controlled media like N12 are falsely claiming our international, independent, and humanitarian mission to break Israel's illegal siege of Gaza is violent and affiliated with governments and political parties. This predictable playbook mirrors past language used to justify Israel's slaughter of 10 humanitarians onboard the Mavi Marmara.

We are calling out the New Zealand government to do everything in their power to protect the New Zealanders onboard the flotilla. Their names are Hāhona Ormsby, Mousa Taher, and Julien Blondel.

We are calling this out before they act: no government or leader can claim they didn’t know.

The Script is Obvious. Here is How They Are Doing It:

• The “Violent” Lie: They are telling the world we are “more violent than predecessors.” This is a fabrication designed to give their commandos a “green light” to use lethal force against unarmed civilians. They want to claim self-defense after they attack us in international waters.
• The “Terrorist” Scapegoat: Whenever the Israeli regime wants to commit a crime, they shout “Hamas” to excuse their violence and war crimes. By “examining connections” to “terror groups” in the news, they are trying to strip peaceful, nonviolent volunteers of their status as doctors, journalists, humanitarians and activists, attempting to rebrand a civilian-led flotilla into a military target.
• The Victim Blaming: Israel is gaslighting the world by framing Shayetet 13, a lethal elite commando unit responsible for leading the Al-Shifa Hospital massacre, as the “victim” of slow-moving boats full of doctors and human rights defenders. This is a calculated setup by the Israeli regime, with facilitation from complicit and participating countries. It is a physical and logical absurdity to claim “self-defense” while committing state-sponsored piracy and crimes against humanity in international waters. You cannot “defend” yourself by launching a violent kidnapping against a legal humanitarian mission. The only “threat” here is that we might actually succeed in breaking the siege and opening up a humanitarian corridor.

A Blunt Warning to the Occupying Forces and States:

We have already placed the international community on formal notice. If you think you can hide behind “following orders” or “security estimates,” you are wrong.

To the Commandos: We are documenting everything in real-time. If you board these ships, kidnap or harm our participants in any way, your faces and your actions will be evidence in international courts and prosecuted.
To the Politicians: Arrest warrants have already been issued in Spain, Italy, and Türkiye for 37 high-ranking officials. We are not just sailing to deliver aid; we are sailing to expose the complicity that makes our sail a necessity.
To the World: The blockade isn't a “security measure,” it’s a tool of genocide, occupation and ethnic cleansing. Any country that helps stop this aid is an accomplice to Israel's crimes.

The participants of GSF are unarmed, non-violent humanitarians, doctors, journalists and volunteers. We affirm our purpose is to open a humanitarian corridor and reach the shores of Gaza with aid and work alongside the Palestinian people in their pursuit of freedom and collective liberation. We remain steadfast and will continue sailing in international waters with both aid and the law on our side.

The world is watching. The playbook is exposed. We call on the world to act.

The Palestine Forum of New Zealand expresses deep concern regarding reports that the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) will participate in the upcoming Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) military exercises alongside Israel and the United States.

At a time when the world is witnessing the ongoing devastation in Gaza and growing international condemnation of Israel’s actions in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, New Zealand must not be seen aligning itself militarily with a state facing serious allegations of war crimes and genocide before international legal institutions.

New Zealand has long claimed to uphold international law, human rights, and an independent foreign policy. Participating in joint military exercises alongside Israel fundamentally contradicts those values and risks damaging New Zealand’s international reputation.

There should be no military cooperation with states engaged in ongoing conflicts and facing credible allegations of violations of international humanitarian law.

The Palestine Forum of New Zealand calls on the Government of New Zealand to immediately review New Zealand’s participation in these exercises and ensure the country does not become complicit directly or indirectly in legitimising violence, occupation, or collective punishment.

New Zealanders expect their country to stand on the side of justice, peace, and international accountability, not military cooperation with governments accused of grave human rights abuses.

Palestine Forum of New Zealand