The university had recently advertised tenders for registration of interests (ROI) to develop a new medical centre in Hamilton, but yesterday it confirmed it had removed this tender at the instruction of the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE).
The news has been greeted with cheers from right-wing commentator Matthew Hooton, who said the proposal was "dubious", and the University of Otago, who have consistently said it could meet the demand for new medical students.
A Waikato University spokeswoman said the proposal remained in the business case stage with the Ministry of Health.
"While we had earlier corrected the wording on the site to reflect the fact that the Waikato Medical School aspect of the precinct is still subject to Cabinet approval, we have decided that greater clarity should be provided to better reflect the information required for the business case process and we will look to prepare a new ROI to be posted later this year."
During the 2023 general election campaign, National campaigned on a third medical school focusing on training rural GPs, to be based at the University of Waikato.
It would receive about $300million in government funding to get it off the ground and ready for its first intake in 2027.
But as part of its coalition agreement with Act New Zealand, the National Party agreed that "a full cost-benefit analysis must be presented before any binding agreement is made ..."
A spokesman for Health Minister Dr Shane Reti said pulling out the ROI was "a technical adjustment made by the University of Waikato".
"The medical school proposal is progressing as per the coalition government’s agreement, including a cost-benefit analysis."
Act leader David Seymour — who is also Associate Health Minister — welcomed the developments.
"We need to make every health dollar go further at this point, so it’s important we have a cost-benefit analysis so we can get the facts before any decisions are made," he said.
Otago University acting dean of the medical school Prof Tim Wilkinson said the third medical school option must be subject to rigorous testing, including against alternative options such as investing in additional capacity within New Zealand’s existing medical schools.
"We believe the existing medical schools can meet the requirements for additional medical training nationally, without the same level of cost and risk as a third medical school would pose.
"We are confident that this option will be scoped by officials as they undertake the required analysis," he said.
Prof Wilkinson said Otago specifically has indicated to the government that it could increase its intake from 302 to 348 places without additional infrastructure, as soon as 2025 if required.
"Longer term — indicatively for 2027 — we have indicated we could lift further an annual intake of 450 students."
"This increase in students could be accommodated by leveraging our existing national reach, which includes not only our three main medical campuses in Dunedin, Christchurch, and Wellington, but also our established network of provincial and rural placement hubs. These are located throughout the South Island, the lower North Island, and up the East Coast of the North Island."
Mr Hooton said National Party members had been asking how this "dubious" proposal turned up in their election manifesto, "especially with Otago and Auckland having world-class medical schools they’re keen and able to grow — and Auckland’s already having a Hamilton campus connected to Waikato Hospital that would have had to close".
"The plan wouldn’t have delivered more rural GPs quickly — that’s best done by contracting Otago and Auckland to do it from next year.
"Med students want an Otago or Auckland certificate, not one from a new school unknown to the global academic and medical communities.
"Everyone wins from Act, NZ First and Finance Minister Nicola Willis saying no to Waikato — Health New Zealand needing more GPs quickly, future med students, taxpayers and Otago and Auckland universities."
