We all need to march for the new hospital
The much-debated Dunedin hospital rebuild must be regarded as a multi-faceted project. As a referral centre, it is required to meet current and future needs of both urban and rural populations in the lower South Island. Importantly, it also has a national responsibility to train future generations of health professionals.
The steady population growth of our region must be considered in forward planning, including the realities of climate change accelerating population shifts affecting the whole country. The medical, educational and community needs for the next half century are at stake. Failure of forward planning will result in increasingly inadequate and outdated medical care.
It is hoped that leaders and populace of both urban and rural areas, as well as representatives of the Otago Medical School, will show their dedication to our hospital and Medical School by joining the march on Saturday.
Gil Barbezat
Emeritus Professor of Medicine
Railing against cuts
If we are serious about marching to support the hospital rebuild, let’s bring the people from far and wide to Dunedin, and then on to Wellington. The city owns Dunedin Railways, so all aboard from Invercargill, and from Oamaru.
At a later date, we set off to Wellington to give the message loud and clear to the Prime Minister, the Minister of Finance, and the Minister of Health. The talking has to stop; now is the time for action.
Mike Waddell
Helensburgh
Where are the objectors?
P2 of the ODT (23.9.24) reports near the end of the article on dog control bylaw and policy that 72% of respondents supported a proposal to remove the requirement for dog owners to display a dog poo bag.
Would some of that 72% please advise through letters to the editor section of the ODT why they object to having dog poo bags attached to the dog lead which would indicate they are a socially responsible person? Or are the objectors to poo bag display the type that do not bother to collect and dispose of their dog’s poo, preferring to leave it on footpaths, at sports grounds and parks?
W. H. Allen
Portobello
Rule-abiding dogs
I was interested to read that 67% support dogs on leads in the central city (ODT 23.9.24).
On Saturday morning I took my dog for a walk through the Woodhaugh Gardens where dogs can be walked if on a leash and kept to the tracks. During the walk I noticed four dogs that were not on a leash and were wandering over the grassed areas. One owner was using the grassed area to play ball with their dog.
If dogs are allowed in the city centre unfortunately there will be dog owners who don’t abide by the rules and unleashed dogs in the central city could be a hazard to children, the elderly and those with disabilities.
Judy Sibbe
Opoho
Don’t give up
Hard times are facing schools and churches in Dunedin. But they should not give up.
The rising prices in the building industry mean that the outlay to build a new beautiful church (not a warehouse monstrosity) or school is immense. So why not keep our existing ones going despite smaller numbers? Children often learn better in smaller class sizes.
So for tomorrow's sake keep our churches and schools.
Anthony Skegg
Saint Clair
Why build new, repurpose Hillside instead
I read with interest in the opinion column by Rachel Elder (ODT 11.9.24) about the new South Dunedin Library hub being built, but there are no carparks.
I wonder why this incongruous glass and steel monstrosity is being built, when nearby, there is a building that, if tastefully done up inside, and with a vacant area around it, also could have served as the library hub, and have carparks.
I speak of the historic Hillside admin block, sitting empty, awaiting. This could have been retro-fitted inside to serve such a purpose, but retaining its historic integrity as a nod to our major local contribution to railways.
Dunedin has a lot of history stemming from the old Hillside, the largest local industry in its former time, and this could easily have served the needs of South Dunedin in this new manner, while at the time also being a heritage piece maintained.
Perhaps a rail-themed cafe at one end (a nice place for retired Hillside workers etc to visit), the possibility of a carriage put at one end as an annex for people to site? This imagination was embodied at the long-lost Carnarvon Station, our former award-winning restaurant.
I was in England recently and went to what was the old Swindon Railway Workshops, which closed some years ago. One of the foundry buildings is tastefully repurposed into a vibrant shopping mall, which includes a Great Western Railway steam locomotive that was built there, as a centrepiece, along with lots of other memorabilia.
While, of course, it goes without saying, that in a hypothetical hub repurpose of the Hillside admin could certainly not have a railway vehicle inside it, but historic Hillside and other rail memorabilia, photos, a large scale model or two of locos built there (such as the KB class) and plaques pertaining to its history, could have worked well.
Paul Jeffery
Dunedin
Address Letters to the Editor to: Otago Daily Times, PO Box 517, 52-56 Lower Stuart St, Dunedin. Email: editor@odt.co.nz
