Using ethnicity as a criteria for bumping people up the surgery list has exploded into a political debate with accusations of discrimination and race baiting.
A tool called the Equity Adjustor Score is being used in Auckland to help decide the order in which patients get operated on.
While the government's defending its use, it's also hit pause to check the method is is fair.
But National and ACT say using ethnicity is wrong and discriminatory, prompting counter claims they're whipping up racial division ahead of October's election.
Our political editor, Jane Patterson, reports.
