Surely, it’s time for us all to respond to a government which considers Te Wai Pounamu, the South Island, as a mere side show. I feel it’s time for the Mayors of the South Island to develop a strategy to challenge this government. Ratepayers expect Mayors to have a spine and to speak for us and to stand up for us all in their patch when we are being largely ignored for our share of resources and support.
Have you signed the letter asking this government
for a commitment to Rail Enabled Ferries?
Mayors might personally have voted for this government. I suspect many did. However, they have the responsibility of putting their personal views to one side and become proper local advocates. It’s time for them to lead each of our communities properly and to be our voice when we are being largely ignored. As a then card-carrying member of the Labour Party (that’s over) as Mayor I kicked back at Labour decisions which impacted badly on our council. And Labour was, in those days, a hell of a lot friendlier than anybody in this government.
Why are we being ignored?
This government seems to be totally focused on the “Golden Triangle”. That’s the triangle from Auckland onto Hamilton and across to Tauranga. The rest of us, Lazarus like, wait for resources to drop off the table to meet our justifiable South Island needs. We get consideration only after the demands of those within the golden triangle have been met. Both the major political parties are heavily focused on this area and candidates predominantly come from there.
Reverse the announced cuts to Dunedin Hospital – Sign here
We have been on the receiving end of questionable decisions:
If we consider the financial battering we have taken as an Island with just a few of the decisions made by this government. Like:
- the inter-Island ferry contract being cancelled.
- the health centre on the West Coast having no Doctors.
- our roading budgets being considerably reduced.
- the chaos of the decision on the Dunedin Hospital.
Here’s a photo in the ODT of an obviously scary radical group at the recent Dunedin demonstration. No wonder the government is banning gang patches. I particularly liked a billboard written on a bed sheet which read: “National puts the ‘N’ into cuts”
This article ‘National hates the south’: On the ground at the Ōtepoti hospital protest | The Spinoff noted:
In July 2023, National campaigned in Dunedin on restoring funding to build the new hospital if it was elected. “Trust us,” Christopher Luxon promised, more than once, to the people of the south. Last week, minister of infrastructure Chris Bishop and minister of health Shane Reti arrived in town to announce that due to budget blowouts, the planned hospital redevelopment would either need to be reduced or done in stages. They are proposing two scaled-back options, but those critical of the decision say the proposed $3 billion cost is “a smokescreen” and that any reduction in services will result in lives being lost.
The result of this announcement was 35,000 people marching through the streets of Dunedin in protest. When our temporary PM visited Dunedin this week, he was met by protestors at every site he visited.
Is this government preparing us for partial privatisation of health? This article is an early indication Private company Vital Healthcare offers to help build Dunedin Hospital | RNZ News. Here’s an indication of the impact of PPP’s:
in a PPP the Crown owns the hospital asset and pays an annual fee to what is usually a consortium of builders, financiers and asset managers, to construct it then run it for 25 years. For instance, Transmission Gully motorway costs the Crown about $100m a year for a private consortium to run.
The outfit which built Transmission Gully (a Steven Joyce promoted project) blew out the costs which we will pay hugely for over the next few decades. Remember that this Aussie company charged an additional $30m on the Christchurch hospital rebuild, as well as the unfinished Parakiore Recreation and Sport Centre, the costs of which head further and further upwards. Guess what? They also won the tender for the Dunedin Hospital programme. Why the hell do we keep awarding contracts to outfits which tender low and produce a massive final cost?
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