Cliff, the Save our Southern Hospital campaign ambulance, has had a busy week, manoeuvring its way to Wellington as part of the strategy to change hearts and minds in the capital when it comes to our new hospital.
Of course, it wasn’t just Cliff that went north this week.
It was a strong southern delegation taking the protest to the Beehive - Dunedin Mayor Jules Radich, Invercargill Mayor Nobby Clark, Waitaki Mayor Gary Kircher and New Zealand Nurses Association delegate and registered nurse Linda Smillie led the group, which also included 10 Dunedin city councillors.
They spearheaded the charge on behalf of 34,000 people who signed the online petition to reverse planned cuts to the project to keep its cost to a government-set budget of $1.88 billion.
The petition, with postcards and badges, travelled up symbolically with Dunedin couple Mike Waddell and Pam Munro, the drivers of Cliff, and was presented to the government on the steps of Parliament.
Wednesday’s incursion into government territory certainly marked a significant moment in the campaign.
It was good to take the region’s concerns directly to the House and show Health Minister Shane Reti once again (as if it were needed) the depth of feeling in the South about broken promises and the $3 billion construction figure seemingly conjured up from thin air.
Dr Reti and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon have been in Dunedin in recent months, during which stopovers they have had to face scrutiny over their hospital plans.
So, it seemed only right to visit them for a change. This kind of pan-regional lobbying on an issue can be very powerful.
However, it is difficult to judge possible outcomes from the visit, though it is to be hoped Dr Reti listened carefully and will give the concerns due consideration.
It is simply not acceptable to the people of the South that the inpatients building be smaller than planned or that the leaking, decaying hospital we now have be somehow retrofitted.
Following the meeting, Mr Radich said there was no commitment to any timeframe around announcements of the government’s next steps.
It was clear Te Whatu Ora and Dr Reti’s staff were working "tirelessly" to find ways of bringing the project within that budget, he said. However, the hospital had to be delivered as promised, even if it meant it cost more.
Mr Kircher called it an encouraging meeting and said there was good work under way to cut "unnecessary costs". Dr Reti also said the get-together was constructive and useful.
Unfortunately, we still do not have any firmer evidence of the veracity of the $3b total bandied about by Dr Reti and Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop when they dropped their bombshell late in September, despite repeated calls for details.
To continue to say it would be a white elephant is a red herring. Frenzied outrage that it would supposedly be the most expensive new hospital in the southern hemisphere is largely irrelevant. Even if the $3b is true, so what? With inflation and the cost of materials, any new build is going to take that title.
The hospital must be built as promised.
It’s not (sky)rocket science
After enduring a week of late-night pops and crackles, and sudden bangs loud enough to make you jump out of your skin, the question arises again - why haven’t we banned the private sale of fireworks yet?
Aside from the dangers to people and the risk of starting fires in dry parts of the country, fireworks are hugely stressful for animals.
This week we heard of the appalling injuries suffered by a retired racehorse in the Bay of Plenty after she was spooked by fireworks and got tangled in a fence. The mare had to be put down.
Annual calls to ban firework sales to the public never seem to gain much traction.
Properly choreographed fireworks displays can be beautiful, and fun. But while there remain antisocial idiots around with explosives in their hands, we need to stop angsting over whether to ban their sales and just do it.
