Elizabeth Fenton – The Conversation

Minister of Health Simeon Brown. Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images

October 21, 2025

Mega‑strike: where is the ‘ethical line’ in public health and are doctors really crossing it?

Health Minister Simeon Brown claimed striking doctors are ‘crossing an ethical line’. But disruption can be ethical when public welfare is at stake.

Getty Images/Fiona Goodall

April 3, 2024

Changes to free flu vaccine eligibility are a missed opportunity to close NZ’s health equity gap

Elizabeth Fenton, University of Otago; Esther Willing, University of Otago, and Tania Moerenhout, University of Otago

Māori and Pacific people already face a disproportionate burden of influenza and a persistently reduced life expectancy. Lowering the age for free flu vaccination is essential for achieving equity.

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May 30, 2023

The real cost of New Zealand’s two‑tier health system: why going private doesn’t relieve pressure on public hospitals

Elizabeth Fenton, University of Otago and Robin Gauld, University of Otago

The argument that private healthcare relieves pressure on the public system is misleading. Private care profits from failures of the public system and patients’ desperation for timely treatment.

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November 8, 2022

Forget tobacco industry arguments about choice. Here’s what young people think about NZ’s smokefree generation policy

Janet Hoek, University of Otago; Elizabeth Fenton, University of Otago; Jude Ball, University of Otago; Lani Teddy, University of Otago, and Richard Edwards, University of Otago

Whether or not they smoke, most young people don’t share the tobacco companies’ view that New Zealand’s new smokefree measures will reduce their autonomy or limit their freedoms.

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