Manifesto survey: What you told us

We recently asked Pinnacle network members to share their views on the proposed priorities for our primary care election manifesto. Twenty-one members responded and the results are clear: our network is united behind the need for urgent, meaningful change.

Sixteen respondents (76%) strongly support the proposed priorities, four (19%) support them, and one was neutral. Nobody was opposed.

The five priorities — and how members ranked them

The manifesto put forward five priorities for members to rank in order of importance.

1. Sustainable funding for primary care.

2. A strong, flexible and sustainable workforce.

3. A stable long-term strategy for primary care.

4. A connected and less fragmented health system.

5. Managing workload and shifting care closer to communities.

Sustainable funding and a stable long-term strategy ranked highest and open comments reinforced this. Funding uncertainty was described as the single most pressing issue facing practices right now.

What members say is missing

Several themes came through consistently in open responses.

GP recruitment and pay. Members want bolder action: bonding graduates to keep them in New Zealand, and pay that genuinely reflects the skill and responsibility of the role. Several flagged the growing risk of losing GP-owned practices.

Technology and IT. Members want investment in digital infrastructure, not just clinical software, but hardware, interoperability, and a real strategy for AI adoption in primary care. One respondent highlighted the urgent need for a single electronic prescribing record shared across GPs, pharmacies, hospitals, and rest homes.

Mental health. Primary care is carrying an ever-growing mental health burden without adequate support. GPs are seeing mental health patients weekly to manage medication and assess risk because specialist waiting times are so long yet the funding model doesn't reflect this workload. Members called for dedicated virtual follow-up funding for mental health and long-term condition patients who cannot afford regular consultations.

Equity and community health. Members working with Māori were direct about the impact of Whānau Ora funding cuts and reduced NGO support on communities already under significant stress. They urged politicians and policymakers to honour the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and treat health equity strategies as essential, not optional.

What's under pressure right now

Members were frank about current pressures on their practices:

• cost pressures that force a choice between adequate staffing and affordable patient fees

• workload transferred from secondary care to general practice, without additional funding

• infrastructure costs (such as IT, premises, equipment) that have never been properly funded

• wage pressures across all staff levels, with no corresponding increase in practice revenue

• complex, fragmented funding streams that have become a significant administrative burden in themselves.

The bottom line

Members want politicians to commit to the long term and stop tinkering. Their message to Pinnacle was direct: be bold with politicians about what primary care needs and why it matters.