At Tuesday’s parliamentary tertiary education committee, Green MP Francisco Hernandez asked Universities Minister Dr Shane Reti about the status of the project.
Dr Reti said the cost-benefit analysis for the project had been completed and the government would be making a decision in a matter of weeks.
The Waikato medical school proposal has proved controversial — the existing medical schools at Otago and Auckland universities argue they can deliver more medical school students more cheaply and efficiently.
National campaigned on the third medical school at the 2023 election, but Act New Zealand made it part of its coalition agreement it would not like the project to go ahead without a detailed cost-benefit analysis.
Documentation from Treasury, the Tertiary Education Commission and Ministry of Education have all expressed concern about the cost of the project, the logistical hurdles in establishing it and the speed at which the government hoped to complete it.
Mr Hernandez said he was disappointed it appeared to still be a going concern.
"It was disappointing to find out at [Tuesday’s] select committee hearings that the Waikato medical school project is still continuing to lumber on between life and death.
"Every moment of delay is another burden at our health system which is already at crisis point. The government must do the right thing and embrace the Green Budget which would invest in funding more places at Otago and Auckland, so that everyone in Aotearoa New Zealand can get the healthcare they need — sooner and for cheaper than the Waikato medical school proposal."
