A sick Southland father's petition for better cancer care in New Zealand has been delivered to Parliament.
Clutha-Southland MP Hamish Walker said Blair Vining's petition, which was signed more than 140,000 times, was presented to him and National’s Health spokesperson Michael Woodhouse at a ''final farewell'', held last month in Invercargill.
National Party leader Simon Bridges received the petition on Vining's behalf in a blue suitcase full of signatures outside Parliament yesterday.
“Blair is a young Southland father-of-two who was diagnosed with terminal cancer in October last year. He made a bucket list of things he wanted to achieve before dying," Mr Walker said.
“He has only one item remaining on his bucket list, which calls on the Government to establish an independent national cancer agency that will saves lives across New Zealand if it is implemented."
Melissa Vining, Blair's wife, said yesterday the next steps would be for the select committee to receive the petition, and there would be an opportunity for Mr Vining to go to Wellington and answer questions and promote his cause.
Unfortunately, Mr Vining's health had deteriorated since the petition closed, with the family receiving news the treatment was not working as cancer had spread to his spine, pelvis and hips.
However, Ms Vining said the fact he husband only had a short time left meant he appreciated everything good that happened and was "upbeat and happy."
"I genuinely believe his positive attitude is what is keeping him with us."
She said the family would be celebrating the milestone by going out for dinner, just the four of them.
Mr Vining's daughter, Lilly, also wrote an open letter to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern asking her to deliver on promises made before next year's general election.
Health Minister David Clark had previously said he was aware wait times for some cancer patients were unacceptably long.
"It has been clear for many years that we can and must do better for cancer sufferers," he said.
There were several issues with the online petition throughout its duration, with the website crashing on more than one occasion.
Ms Vining previously said they were inundated with messages when this happened, and after the most recent incident the petition deadline was extended by a week as signatures were not being counted correctly.
The petition closed July 7, and more than 10,000 signed in the final days, said Ms Vining, with "massive" support from Dunedin.
It would be presented at Parliament tomorrow.