Every public house on that list was needed.
The biggest surprise in Dunedin was Kāinga Ora confirming a proposed 41 one-to-two-bedroom housing complex to be built in Carroll St was now ‘‘under assessment’’.
The Carroll St development has had extensive planning, including the recent demolition of 16 state homes.
Dunedin needs more housing and it is irresponsible to stop this build in a location so close to town and on an existing site. It is bad for both people wanting homes and for our construction sector.
Under this government, work on housing, infrastructure, hospital and school buildings has ground to a halt, with many companies having to close and about 8000 fewer people employed in the construction sector since National took office.
Also confirmed on the list was the second stage of the redevelopment in Albertson Ave in Port Chalmers. This involved replacing six houses with 11 new, well-insulated homes.
There are many residents who had lived in the previous housing at this Port Chalmers site who had hoped to return to a new home once building work was finished.
Those residents, along with many others looking for housing in Dunedin, now face even more uncertainty. Dunedin needs more social housing and we need it now!
Labour delivered the most public homes each year in its last term since the 1950s, with one in six homes in New Zealand’s entire public housing stock added between 2017 and 2023. Unfortunately, National does not share the same vision.
The irony is the cost of reviewing these projects is actually going to end up costing more than it would have done if they just carried on with it.
We also heard recently from Te Whatu Ora (HNZ) commissioner Dr Lester Levy, that downsizing the new Dunedin hospital could soon be on the cards.
Reports show the possible cuts include the shelling of an 11-bed short-stay pod in the emergency department, as well as downgrades to operating theatres.
These reports were followed by a photo-shoot of all 14 Dunedin city councillors, posing in their ‘‘They Save, We Pay’’ campaign T-shirts.
I look forward to more noise from our mayor and councillors demanding the hospital as promised.
