South Island mayors are “steaming mad” over the Government’s plan to downgrade the new Dunedin Hospital, Dunedin Mayor Jules Radich says.
The Government announced last week that the cost of the development had blown out to $3 billion and savings had to be made.
Around 35,000 people rallied in anger outside the Octagon.
“The people of this region are hopping mad, they’re steaming about this depreciation of the hospital that they’ve been waiting for for so long,” Radich said.
Protesters are promising a lot more pushback to come.
“This project is in people’s hearts, and they will not let it be messed with,” former Southern Partnership chairman Pete Hodgson said.
The former Labour health minister has provided governance on the project since the outset.
He accepted the hospital will cost over $2 billion, but nowhere near the three billion the Government is suggesting.
“They’ve been caught being deceitful and I think they should respond to being caught by putting out other information that they have,” he said.
Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said an independent review – led by former Health Infrastructure New South Wales chief executive Robert Rust – had sections on costings which were “heavily redacted”.
“So the Government has not offered proof that Dunedin Hospital is going to cost that much,” she said.
But the Government insists it’s been as transparent as possible, given the costs from the contractor are commercially sensitive.
“We’re the ones who’ve inherited an absolute hospital pass from the previous government. We have publicly released all the information we have,” Bishop said.
He said one more document will be released in due course.
Health Minister Shane Reti posted a video to social media today, saying, “That’s not scaremongering, it’s a financial reality. We don’t have an unlimited pool of money.”
Radich said leaders across the south are planning to meet face to face to voice their concerns.
“Various mayors from the region, they’re steaming mad too,” he said.
“They want to go to Wellington and make their position felt.”