The last few weeks have taken me back to the frustrating days back in 2018 when Lumsden lost its maternity centre. This was a year after a new hospital in Dunedin was promised during an election campaign with the build to begin in year one should Labour get in.
This followed a business case developed by National during their term in 2015. Nine years have passed since that initial business case, and I cannot say that the build of Dunedin Hospital is in a good state.
People from Southland and Otago are shaking their heads and banging them against the wall while still suffering a postcode lottery that, to put it bluntly, is unacceptable. It’s time we take the politics out of our core infrastructure decisions. It’s time this type of work is planned properly and delivered appropriately with realistic budgets. It shouldn’t be that hard, but for some reason it is.
We have just passed the fifth anniversary of Blair Vining’s passing and, over a short period of time, his wife Missy has courageously led the build of a new charity hospital down south. I am not trying to compare apples with oranges, but between the two projects there is a clear winner.
The planning of the community-led hospital started four years after Dunedin, and the opening day is nigh (go Missy!). Yet in Dunedin we only have some piles in the ground with questions as to what those piles will end up supporting.
This hospital needs to provide core health services for at least two generations — building it wrong now will come back to bite us later on. In fact, it’s already biting us now!
Team Southland-Otago are gearing up for a fight. Dunedin Hospital needs to be built and needs to be fit for purpose. At the same time, NZ Inc needs to learn from this nine-year shambles and start planning and delivering infrastructure better.
— Rob Scott is Southland District Mayor
