Bipartisan health plans called for

Chloe Swarbrick is calling for all political parties to have a bipartisan discussion about health infrastructure as a way of avoiding the debacles that have plagued the new Dunedin hospital project.

The Green Party co-leader was in Dunedin this week to talk about future responses to flooding events, but acknowledged the fact most people in the city were concerned about the lack of progress on the hospital project.

The government has paused the project as it considers whether to push ahead with a scaled-down version, or to retrofit the existing Dunedin Hospital.

Ms Swarbrick said not only should the government deliver the project as promised in the 2023 election campaign, it also needed to be far more open in the future when delivering health infrastructure projects.

"I think that this is where we need to elevate it out of the day-to-day political nonsense that actually has just been so dispiriting and depressing, especially for many in Dunedin to follow over several years, where promises have been made and things have not been followed through with.

"This is where it’s actually incumbent on all politicians to knock our heads together and to say this is something that really matters to the community, but to make decisions that actually go well beyond the remit of any one politician."

Ms Swarbrick said people advocating for the necessary investment in Dunedin’s hospital were "kind of locked out of the discussion".

"So, we would say to the prime minister, we would say to Cabinet, we would say to the government, to reach across the aisle and to do this right, which means to take a long-term view, which takes us outside of the data and political incentives."

Ms Swarbrick said rather than a "first principles" look at the need for health infrastructure, "what we've instead got is this kind of seesawing effect that ends up with a baby being thrown out with the bathwater any time there's a chopping and change of government".

"Typically what you end up with is this real sense of perplexing ridiculousness when a new administration comes in and basically just says that they don't trust any of the ... commissioned advice or evidence or research or reports or otherwise."

Health Minister Dr Shane Reti did not directly respond to questions about whether a bipartisan approach to health infrastructure would be beneficial.

Instead, he said: "Our ministers are determined to finally deliver on a new Dunedin hospital which has taken far too long to get off the ground.

"Based on their previous confidence and supply and co-operation agreements with Labour, I expect the Green Party will be well aware of how poor management and planning challenges have dogged this project from the start.

"We all want an enduring solution for the people of the southern region."

Dr Reti was asked whether the government had a timeframe for the project; whether it would be delivered to the specifications promised in the 2023 election campaign, and whether it had considered new delivery models such as public-private-partnerships.

A spokeswoman for Dr Reti said the ministers did not put a specific timeline on the next steps, but "obviously the government wants to get this important piece of work going as soon as possible".

"In general, the government has previously said it’s open to exploring alternative funding and financing mechanisms, including things like PPPs and leaseback. That comment is in general, and not specific to Dunedin."