Road to Wellington

Our health system is broken. Road to Wellington is a short documentary that follows grassroots activist Malcolm Mulholland on a journey across Aotearoa, rallying people against the crisis in the health system.

In just 18 days, he’ll drive from Stewart Island to Cape Rēinga, leading hīkoi in more than 30 cities. His journey will culminate in a march in Wellington, calling on the Crown to take urgent action. 

But this film is more than Malcolm’s road trip, it’s the story of why he travels. It begins in 2018, when his life was turned upside down by a routine check-up on his wife, Wiki. She was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer.

The drug she needed wasn’t funded by Aotearoa’s drug agency. So the couple decided to build a movement calling for reform. They led protests and delivered a 200,000-signature petition to Parliament. Change came, but too late. Wiki passed away in November 2021.

Malcolm carried on the fight. But months later, he too was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Surgery cost $60,000, possible only because of Wiki’s life insurance. Malcolm knows many New Zealanders don’t get that chance.

Over the years, he’s come to realise that health — and life — are privileges in Aotearoa. Those who can’t afford them are the ones who suffer most. That’s what sets Malcolm in motion. If it moves you too, come along!