Broken promises and accusations of a government backtrack have fuelled a protest that is expected to draw thousands in defence of Dunedin’s new hospital project.
Video / NZ Herald
Mayor Jules Radich has committed to leading a delegation to Wellington to continue the campaign in person.
On Thursday, Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop and Health Minister Shane Reti announced that the cost of the project has escalated to an estimated $3 billion from an original estimate of between $1.2b-$1.4b in 2017.
An estimated 35,000 people have marched through the streets of Dunedin, outraged by Government plans to downgrade the hospital project because of budget blowouts.
Radich said the Government needed to listen to the protesters.
“Today up to 35,000 people from across the south have come together on Dunedin’s streets to express their outrage at proposed cuts to our new regional hospital.
An estimated 35,000 people marched against the governments proposed hospital cuts in Dunedin on Saturday. Photo / Ben Tomsett
“This is the biggest protest in Dunedin in decades, and together we’ve sent a powerful message to Government that we’re not going accept broken promises and a hospital that fails the people of our region.”
An independent review, commissioned by the Government, concluded that the project could not proceed within the current budget.
Radich said the cut was a reflection of “a national issue, shining a spotlight on the Government’s health funding and priorities, and they can’t simply ignore us”.
“We’re not going away. In fact, we’re just getting started.”
He thanked those who supported the march, including individuals, families, health workers and ”medical students who could be forced to work in a substandard facility if the Government’s plans are not challenged”.
He said the hospital had been “a long time coming” and had been designed in consultation with health workers.
Green Party MP Scott Willis (left) and Jenna Packer. Photo / Ben Tomsett
“The fact the Government now wants to downscale such a critical facility for the south is an outrage, and people are right to be angry.”
Radich said the campaign will continue, and phase two will shift the focus to direct lobbying of key ministers in Wellington.
“We’re now asking people to send thousands of postcards directly to ministers Bishop and Reti, telling them exactly what the cuts would mean for them and their whānau, and why the government should keep its promise.
“Our message is simple, build it once and build it right, with no clinical cuts, and that’s what the people of the south have said with one voice, loudly and clearly, today.
“These cuts represent a broken promise by this Government,” he said.
Radich repeated that message when addressing the crowd gathered today.
He quoted Prime Minister Christopher Luxon previously stating that a National Government would deliver the hospital as originally promised.
”It all comes down to a simple message, build it once and build it right.”
Southern District Health Board worker Stephen Packer. Photo / Ben Tomsett
A “broken promise”
Dr Sheila Barnett told the crowd there were “over 500 of us who have put their heart and soul into this design”.
“Many of us have lived and breathed this project. I know that what we designed would have worked.”
Councillor Bill Acklin then led the crowd in a rendition of the Broken Promise March song, a rewrite of the old Carisbrook anthem, Welcome to the House of Pain.
Clutha Mayor Bryan Cadogan asked those gathered: “Why are we here? Because we’ve been bloody lied to.
”It was only two weeks ago during a mayoral forum we were assured the promises would be kept. Two weeks, and then the hatchet brothers came to town.
”Your support has shown that in the coming weeks, there’s going to be a bloody fight ... We’re going to come together as town and country, together we can do this.”
Thousands joined the protest. Photo / Ben Tomsett
New Zealand Nurses Organisation Dunedin delegate Linda Smillie said poorly designed or inadequate facilities result in patient harm.
“This Government would have you believe that this hospital, which would serve the whole southern region, is too expensive to build, but I would argue that this coalition Government has made a deliberate choice not to invest in the health of Otago and Southland.”
She criticised the Government’s previous expenditures of “$2.9b, which they chose to give to landlords ... $2.6b to tobacco ... and billions on roads in the North Island.”
Piri Tohu-Hapati told the crowd: “I am not a southern boy, I am a northern boy, and my GP was, ashamedly, Shane Reti.
”This is a matter of life and death, this is a matter of being cheap ... this is myopic, major short-sightedness.
”To cut corners is to be complicit in preventable deaths.”
From left: Pip Martin, Loren Westhead, Ivy Westhead, Stu Loudon, Kim Lloyd. Photo / Ben Tomsett
Doctors and nurses from Dunedin Hospital joined the protest. Photo / Ben Tomsett
Local Labour MP Rachael Brooking previously criticised the Government, calling the move “outrageous”, and accusing it of prioritising tax cuts for landlords over hospital funding.
Meanwhile, Tracey McLellan, Labour’s health infrastructure spokesperson, called the revised plan a “sterling disappointment”, pointing out that Labour’s original plan had provided additional capacity for mental health and MRI facilities.
Bishop said the original projections were based on faulty information and assured the public that Dunedin would still receive a significant $1.88b investment.
However, protesters are expected to make their voices heard, demanding more from the Government to ensure that Dunedin’s hospital is built as promised.
Otago Polytechnic and the University of Otago also voiced serious worries regarding the impact on healthcare training.
Otago Polytechnic’s executive director Dr Megan Pōtiki said downgrading the hospital could jeopardise Dunedin’s reputation as a premier destination for health education.
The polytechnic relies heavily on the hospital for clinical placements which are crucial for students in nursing and midwifery programmes.
“Reductions in hospital services would significantly limit hands-on learning opportunities, which could ultimately affect student readiness for the workforce,” she said.
Dunedin's Forsyth Barr Stadium lit in red in support of the march against proposed cuts to the new hospital. Photo / Ben Tomsett
University of Otago vice-chancellor Grant Robertson said Dunedin Hospital played a vital role in training healthcare professionals nationwide.
He said that the current shortage of trained doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers could be exacerbated by fewer clinical placements.
Acting head of Otago Polytechnic’s College of Health, Dr Hayden Croft, said students might be forced to seek qualifications elsewhere, potentially leading to a local healthcare talent shortage.
Both institutions called for the Government to consider the long-term implications of reduced hospital services on both education and health outcomes.
Ben Tomsett is a multimedia journalist for the New Zealand Herald, based in Dunedin.
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