The Breast Cancer Foundation is "gutted" the breast screening age won't be raised but says it's "not surprised".
Currently, women aged between 45 and 69 can receive free mammograms which are proven to be crucial in detecting cancer in its early stages. Research shows women over 70 years old are at increased risk too.
In 2017, the Government promised to raise the breast screening age to include women up to 74 - but that hasn't happened.
Breast Cancer Foundation New Zealand head research manager Adele Gautier told AM "we've had promises that have been broken".
"We had a cross-party Select Committee say that this had to be done and the risk of losing women was higher than the risk of any pressures on the system," she said. "It hasn't been done and we're gutted but not surprised."
She said the lack of urgency to raise the age has come with the same excuses.
"Around lack of resourcing, computer system problems, things that have been issues for ten years or more. If you wanted to fix them, you would do that."
Gautier said she's been hearing about the computer system problems for "10 years now" and doesn't think it's "a good excuse for not delivering a top-class screening system".
While there are some resource issues, Gautier said they are being addressed and believes adding two more mammograms for a woman over five years won't put "unreasonable pressure on the system".
Gautier told AM co-host Michael O'Keefe the Breast Cancer Foundation has asked political parties to take a stance on the issue as election 2023 ramps up.
"We've already produced a policy scorecard and we'll be updating that as the election comes closer," she said. "We're not going to let this drop. We will keep fighting this."
Newshub has contacted Associate Health Minister Willow-Jean Prime's office for comment.
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