It comes as the Labour Party calls on the government to come clean about its intentions.
The Otago Daily Times reported Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand (HNZ) advisers rushing to deliver the project within the fiscal envelope earlier this year suggested both selling the outpatients building and leasing it back, or third-party funding for the inpatients building as possible options.
Asked whether it was still considering these options, a HNZ infrastructure delivery lead Blake Lepper said yesterday ‘‘the document and options are from a meeting in January 2024. Since then, $290million in additional Crown funding was provided to cover the immediate cost pressure of the overall new Dunedin hospital project, including the outpatient building’’.
He responded to further queries about the ‘‘lease-back’’ and ‘‘third-party’’ funding options and whether they were still on the table, by saying ‘‘there are many different funding options that may be suitable for different types of projects’’.
‘‘Right now, our focus is on working through the options analysis and delivering the new Dunedin hospital project within the $1.88billion budget set out by ministers.
‘‘While conversations are ongoing, we can’t speculate on how health infrastructure, including the new Dunedin hospital, may be funded in the future.’’
Labour health infrastructure spokeswoman Tracey McLellan said transparency about the project was vital.
‘‘The National government has already backtracked on the hospital they promised to build.
‘‘The least they can do now is keep the people in the southern region informed about any plans they might still have to sell it out from underneath them.’’
She criticised the government for appearing to still consider the ‘‘lease-back’’ option.
‘‘Selling one building to pay for the other is a far cry from what National promised voters during the campaign. They made poor choices and now they can’t afford to keep their promises.’’
When the ODT asked Health Minister Dr Shane Reti whether the sale of the outpatients building was still under consideration, a spokeswoman said: ‘‘Ministers look forward to receiving advice from HNZ, and then getting on with the work of delivering a great new hospital build for Dunedin and people of the south’’.
In late September, Dr Reti and Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop announced they were canning the project in favour of either a down-scaled version or a retro-fit of the existing Dunedin hospital amid reports of budget blowouts.
They announced a new budget for the project of $1.88b. A decision is due in the coming weeks.
