Among them are National Party voters who feel let down by the plan to shrink the promised hospital or dump it altogether and retrofit the old building.
- Massive march shows depth of feeling
- Photos: No ordinary protest crowd
- 'Cruel, thoughtless, disgusting': Hospital downgrade lashed
We will continue to publish readers' responses over the coming days.
After voting for National at the last election I am appalled to see them go back on their promise.
In the end politicians are swayed mainly by votes.
They risk annoying 300,000 voters in the southern region by not doing what they promised.
In the end this issue will decide my vote for the next election.
Michael Rodriguez, Dunedin
I voted for this government but totally disagree with the decision on Dunedin hospital.
Get the hospital built to the original plan to the highest spec possible with no expense spared.
Do it once and do it right and get on with it. Hospitals are one of the most important institutions in our society.
We all depend on them at some stage in our lives.
There is a chance for Dunedin to have a world class hospital with the capacity it requires and this Government is about to completely stuff this up for thousands in the future.
Invercargill hospital is a prime example of not thinking ahead.
Its capacity is also now too small.
Hospitals are not luxuries, they are necessities and any chance to build one properly and future proofed should be pushed through no matter what the cost.
Simon Erskine, Invercargill
This will cost us in the long term as a city. A as a National Party member I'm shocked by the way the decision was made so quickly without talking to the people of Dunedin.
Joshua, Dunedin
I am totally disappointed!! I have had to pay for an ear operation and kidney operation in the last two years. No staff or doctors?
My rotator cuff operation I went to Auckland.
What the hell is going on in the South Island.
Robyn Booth, Fairfield
I think this is so disgusting. We have limited resources between the two DHBs and by downgrading the new developments is an insult to what Southland is trying to achieve.
We cover a huge area of the lower south and with the proposed cuts and downgrades this is unacceptable.
Kathlene Smith, Invercargill
Health is the most important thing to new Zealanders.
Chris Smith, Dunedin
Give us what we deserve, just because we don't live in Auckland doesn't make it right to shortchange us on our much-needed hospital.
End of story give us what was promised and stop mucking around and get the job done.
Wendy Barr, Dunedin
Nobody seems to address the elephant in the room: how can it happen that this project is so far above original budget?
Why does this keep on happening with Council or Government projects? People have to realize- there is no goose laying golden eggs- there is no endless supply of money.
There should be a thorough investigation as to those budget blowouts.
Sandra R, Dunedin
The politicians keep talking about Dunedin Hospital as if it only serves Dunedin City. Dunedin Hospital is the centre for secondary care for the Waitaki, Clutha, Central Otago, and to an extent Queenstown-Lakes.
We get helicoptered patients frequently from Queenstown, where the hospital available there offers the bare minimum, and not nearly enough for the growth that region is seeing.
We have already scaled back the plans for the hospital. We have already paid for the Cadbury Factory to be demolished, and the site has had huge piling work done to it in preparation for the inpatient building.
We have already (in 2017) rejected a proposal to retrofit the hospital on the existing site, at an unknown cost of getting the economic scale of that drafted up.
Now we have Min Reti talking about looking at urgent advice, and one of the options is retrofitting the hospital. Firstly, how much is this 'urgent advice' costing, and secondly, how is this even allowed to happen if it's been formally rejected?!
National made a pre-election promise that “If elected in October, National will deliver all the beds, operating theatres and radiology services that Labour removed", and “The previous National Government committed to delivering the hospital that people in the South needed, and we will follow through with that promise".
I wonder if we had been a largely national-voting electorate if there would have been any differences
We deserve a hospital that serves our community. We deserve better.
If they can give $3 billion tax breaks to landlords, $216m toward heated tobacco tax cuts, and $21.7 billion on roading, they can front up what is required to complete this project to the needs as already assessed and determined by clinicians and previous governments.
D Smith, Dunedin
If they can't keep to the plan. Simple. if we can't have health for our people they don't need our power. Cut the cable.
Graeme Barr, Dunedin
Following up on the coalition government's bungling their way so far, they now have reneged on their promise of a new hospital.
This is total incompetence at its worst. Dunedin and the South Island desperately need this facility which should have been given top priority in the government finances (especially ahead of the huge handout to landlords, and the pathetic tax cuts).
Coalition get your act together or you will be out of a job in two years.
Ray James, Dunedin
Chris Bishop says there are hospitals crying out for maintenance.
That is true, but it's entirely down to people like him, MP's who know the cost of everything and the value of nothing.
They've procrastinated for years in the mistaken and childlike belief that the market would somehow mysteriously fix everything.
We've had enough of Rogernomics, it hasn't worked!
I believe that successive governments have been stealthily tipping more and more of our health dollars into private provider's pockets.
I urge readers to email the Prime Minister, the Minister of Health and Chris Bishop to tell them how they feel. I did.
Craig Bonner, Rangiora
This is the coalition government breaking its election promise to the people of Dunedin and Southland to build our much-needed public hospital which is also a training hospital for medical students from Otago University.
They have betrayed the trust of many Dunedin Citizens who believed in them. Dunedin and the South deserve much better than that.
Beverley Schofield, Palmerston
A promise should be honoured.
Dunedin hospital services a large area of NZ and staff should be able to work in a functioning unit that can cater for times ahead. Health is at the root of everything and if good facilities are not in place now then that will impact on people's lives going forward.
Just get on with the promise.
Listen to what the medical people are telling you they need.
Barbara Ward, St Kilda
I think this is so disgusting.
We have limited resources between the two DHBs and by downgrading the new developments is an insult to what Southland is trying to achieve.
We cover a huge area of the lower south and with the proposed cuts and downgrades. This is unacceptable. If the sites not suitable plan B
Kathlene Smith, Invercargill
I will start this off by asking a question. How does cancelling the Dunedin hospital rebuild get the country back on track?
I have been asking this question which was National's campaign slogan from last year's election with every decision this government has made from getting rid of smokefree to getting rid of the ferries project.
Dunedin Hospital is another broken National promise and have in less than a year taken this country backwards by at least 50 years.
Our current hospital is far too old. I remember being in hospital as a kid in the !990s and hearing staff say we need a new hospital National wonders why it can't win seats here in Dunedin.
It's not just a hospital for Dunedin it's a hospital for the lower South Island.
Richard Cheyne, St Kilda
