It is a reminder that our new Southern Hospital needs to be built with the capacity to provide for a big region, well into the future.
When Minister for Health Simeon Brown finally announced in February that the new inpatient building would be built on the old Cadbury site, where the piles are a visual reminder of broken promises, he also revealed it would be less than what was originally promised and planned for.
The government worked hard to play down expectations for our Southern hospital, hoping to placate us with the scraps. But now, the Treasury reports even that looks unlikely.
There are real concerns about pressure from the upcoming budget building on our hospital, in the form of "inflationary pressures and programme delay".
For far too long, the needs of our ageing and rural Southern communities have been dismissed, and nowhere is this more evident than in healthcare.
Almost weekly, we hear of more delays, cancellations and cuts, each of which leaves more of us without access to services we desperately need.
This government frequently talks up the importance of growth at all costs and reducing waste, particularly in our public sector.
However, what is abundantly clear is that the waste is not coming from our frontline workers.
It is coming from the poor decisions made by this government.
Delays in hospital builds, cancelled services — like our ferries — and chronic underfunding have all cost precious millions.
Tax cuts for the wealthy continue to take priority over the basic needs of everyday people.
Our healthcare system — and especially its workers — is being pushed to breaking point.
Anything less than a Southern hospital built to full spec is unacceptable.
Similarly, we need to support the wider health ecosystem, so that doctors, nurses, healthcare workers and allied health professionals can deliver for the public good we all value.
They shouldn’t have to keep doing more with less.
At the end of the day, it is about priorities. We can do things another way, prioritising the health and wellbeing of our people over privatisation.
When the Green Party releases its Green Budget in May, it will prioritise people and planet, providing for robust, well-run public services, support for healthcare workers and investment in the required infrastructure.
We can’t accept a system which tells our Southern community we should be happy with scraps. We deserve better.
