Christopher Luxon was in town to pay tribute to the efforts of those involved in the response to last week's severe weather event that caused major disruptions across eastern Otago.
A small group was awaiting his arrival at Dunedin Airport this morning, to challenge him on his government's recent announcements on the new Dunedin hospital build.
Late last month the government said to build the hospital as currently designed could cost up to $3 billion, and it put a $1.88 billion cap on the Dunedin budget.
After briefly engaging with the airport protesters, Mr Luxon was whisked into town, where a larger group of about 30 had gathered at the Otago Regional Council headquarters in Stafford St, the PM's first stop.
As the number of protesters increased, so did the volume.
It was a very vocal group that greeted Mr Luxon at the city's Civil Defence bunker in Moray Place.
The protesters made plenty of noise, chanting and jeering, one person yelling at the Prime Minister: "How can you live with yourself?".
They'd come with a plan and were milling all around the bunker, stationing themselves at every elevator stop for the chance to catch the Prime Minister by surprise.
The plan was to wait for the sound of the elevator going up, quickly hit the buttons causing the doors to open at every stop, forcing him to see protesters face to face.
Before the plan could be put into action, however, the protesters were asked to go outside and to stop crowding the hallways.
More of them swarmed around the vehicle Mr Luxon took to the bunker and another group were chanting outside the council building in the Octagon.
Protester and Dunedin resident Mike Brown said he was there because he ‘‘wanted what was promised.’’
‘‘We need it, you’ll need it, my kids will need it and their kids will also need it.
He thought the government was being shortsighted.
‘‘I think they don’t want to focus on the long-term benefits of something like the hospital build and only want to focus on what will make them look like they’re making life better immediately — such as something silly like tax cuts.
‘‘Not building it now, and not building it right is just kicking the can down the road . . . all of us in the South deserve better than that.’’
