"Dunedin hospital is a classic example of a lot of talk but not a lot of action," Mr Hipkins told a public meeting in Dunedin yesterday.
"We started the process of building the hospital. The current government made some big promises about that before the election, but they’ve gone very quiet afterwards as to whether or not they will deliver on those promises.
"There is no question whatsoever that Dunedin needs a new hospital."
Health Minister Shane Reti visited Dunedin a fortnight ago and said the government was "committed to building the new Dunedin hospital" but would not specifically pledge to reverse cuts Labour had proposed.
During the election campaign National said it would restore 23 inpatient beds, two operating theatres and a PET scanner Labour had proposed cutting from the inpatient building — a position Labour later mostly reversed.
Dr Reti said National’s election promise "continues to be what we are anticipating on delivering".
After the meeting, Mr Hipkins told the Otago Daily Times that while both major parties had made pre-election commitments regarding the new Dunedin hospital, National had won and it was up to them to deliver on their promise.
"The people of Dunedin have the right to hold them accountable ... we wanted to get it right, the big challenge was around whether it should be one building or two and I think once that was resolved and there was an agreement to have separate in-patient and out-patient buildings, that we started to get the progress that Dunedin needs to see."
About 100 party faithful braved the rainy day to hear Mr Hipkins and party finance spokeswoman Barbara Edmonds speak.
While the Budget was nominally the subject of the meeting, it ended up canvassing environmental issues, climate change, infrastructure, health, education and tax policy.
Mr Hipkins promised Labour would campaign on a new tax policy in 2026, and it would likely include a tax on capital in some form, but he was careful not to specify what tax changes that might entail.
"We need to start the tax debate by asking what we want government to do, and then ask how do we pay for that . . . I’m not (against a capital gains tax) . . . but there are a range of different options if we want to tax income from capital.
"You will have heard me talk about a capital gains tax but there is also a wealth tax, a land tax, and a whole lot of variants between those things. What we are working through is what the best option for New Zealand in our current circumstances is."
Mr Hipkins also observed the formalities as close friend and former finance minister Grant Robertson began his new role as vice-chancellor of the University of Otago.
— Mike Houlahan, Political editor
