What they said then
"National will ensure that when the hospital opens, it will have 421 beds ready to go.
"There will be 13 functioning main operating theatres (two more than the business case indicated) and the vital PET scanner will be installed and operating from day one.
"The new Dunedin hospital will be built better and sooner under National."
— National Party election campaign flyer, authorised by then-MP Michael Woodhouse
"We’re going to build this hospital back to the specification that was originally intended, in terms of giving us the capacity we need, and that we will need for the future with the generations to come."
— National Party leader Christopher Luxon, July 7, 2023
"As I’ve said many, many times, the biggest cost pressure on this project is delay."
— Michael Woodhouse MP, July 7, 2023
"The Minister of Health and I, along with key colleagues, are considering advice for the next step for the new Dunedin hospital.
"We need to make sure that the project delivers value for money and that it can be delivered as expected."
— Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop, June 6, 2024
"We will maintain what we said, that we would return and refit those parts of the new Dunedin hospital back to its original description."
— Health Minister Dr Shane Reti, June 21, 2024
What they say now
"The project had approved funding of $1.59 billion under the previous government. In March this year, Cabinet agreed to authorise a further $290 million in capital funding due to cost pressures. The current appropriation is therefore $1.88 billion.
"We now know that the new Dunedin hospital, as currently designed, can’t be delivered within that appropriation."
— Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop, September 26, 2024
"The people of Dunedin deserve transparency about this problematic and poorly managed project — and so do all the taxpayers, who are funding it."
— Health Minister Dr Shane Reti, September 26, 2024
Today’s protest
• The protest starts with a karakia and singing of the hospital song at noon outside the University of Otago Faculty of Dentistry
entrance in Great King St.
• Members of the public are encouraged to gather from 11.30am, wear white clothing, if possible, and bring a clever placard or campaign posters.
• The protest will then make its way down George St to the Octagon, where the crowd will hear from speakers.
• All Dunedin buses running between 10am and 3pm today will also be free, thanks to the Otago Regional Council, to help people get to and from the march.
• The protest march is expected to cause traffic disruption in the CBD, so everyone travelling to and from the protest should consider alternative transport options where possible.
• Police will also be at the march to keep everyone safe.
