The suggestion from Cr Carmen Houlahan came up yesterday when the Dunedin City Council approved an overspend of up to $200,000 to continue the Save Our Southern Hospital campaign.
She was not sure there was much point trying to get Prime Minister Christopher Luxon to budge on a $1.9 billion cap on the project.
The campaign should have a radical change of focus to target Mr Peters, she said.
Cr Houlahan said the New Zealand First leader should remember the party’s voting base, which she described as senior citizens.
"Winston Peters has influence in that government," she said.
"He is part of the government and Prime Minister Luxon will listen to him."
The National Party has been criticised heavily for looking to renege on statements made before the election.
Cr Sophie Barker felt there could be merit in targeting Mr Peters.
"He hates liars and broken promises, and I think we’re looking at broken promises," she said.
Cr Barker said the council needed "a fighting fund".
Deputy Mayor Cherry Lucas said Dunedin had not been done any favours by previous governments and she drew attention to what Mr Peters had said before the election.
"We committed to a comprehensive new hospital here," Mr Peters had said in June last year.
"Not this nickel and dime thing that the Labour Party is serving up to you now."
A spokesman for Mr Peters said he was overseas and unavailable for comment.
Most comment at the meeting was about the need for the council to carry on with its campaign, although Cr Lee Vandervis voted against approving more money for it.
The vote was 12-1.
Cr David Benson-Pope said the suggestion the campaign had already served its purpose was "arrant claptrap".
"This campaign will serve its purpose when the hospital that we are entitled to, which we have been promised, is built," he said.
The government was considering a retrofit at the old hospital site when more than $200 million had been sunk into the former Cadbury site and the piles were in, Cr Benson-Pope said.
Cr Steve Walker was worried about this being "potentially the biggest white elephant in the history of New Zealand".
He was suspicious the government might plan to drop bad news on the city before the year was out.
If it instead decided to build the hospital to the agreed business case, the campaign allocation would not need to be spent and "that would be an awesome Christmas present for each and every one of us".
Cr Andrew Whiley said the council’s overspend was a drop in the bucket compared with what the government was spending on consultants for basically no result.
Cr Brent Weatherall said the campaign had to continue.
"Backing down before the government makes a decision is simply not an option."
Cr Vandervis said the city had made its point when there was a huge public march in September.
The impact of this had been "diluted" with a less-effective rally at the Town Hall this month, he said.
The council’s total approved overspend has increased to $346,099, including the extra $200,000 for continuation of the campaign.
A report for the council said a decision from the government could be made early next year, or sooner.
