Reti is among ministers who are spending our money (but his injection for Palmerston North hospital is well below $3bn)
The Government has been in bad odour, down south, after Health Minister Shane Reti and Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop announced advice is being sought on two options “for delivering the New Dunedin Hospital project within its existing funding appropriation to ensure the people of Dunedin get the modern, fit-for-purpose medical facilities they need”.
It’s all a matter of money. The project had approved funding of $1.59 billion under the previous government.
In March this year, Cabinet agreed to authorise a further $290 million in capital funding. The current appropriation is therefore $1.88 billion.
But according to Chris Bishop, the project’s original 2017 cost estimates of $1.2 – $1.4 billion “could approach $3 billion, which would make it one of the most expensive hospitals ever built in the southern hemisphere”.
It’s when hospital costs are being measured in the billions – and are ballooning – that the Government seems to balk. Today Shane Reti brought good news to Palmerston North on the hospital front, but the money involved is a matter of just a few million dollars.
The nature of the development is commensurately modest.
Reti announced a funding boost for Palmerston North ED – it is investing an extra $6 million in a package of initiatives “that will provide extra clinical staff, a more efficient process when patients are discharged from hospital, and a more child-friendly experience for children in ED.”
Other minister have been dipping into the coffers too.
Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka has splashed out with a bigger lump of dosh than Reti – but, like the announcements of other ministers today, it’s far short of the billion-dollar mark.
His news was a $35 million Government investment to enable the delivery of 100 affordable rental homes in partnership with Waikato-Tainui.
Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds and Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston announced an investment in “Apprenticeship Boost” to “prioritise critical industries and targeted occupations that are essential to addressing New Zealand’s skills shortages and rebuilding the economy”.
They mentioned the National-NZ First Coalition Agreement, which includes a commitment to continue Apprenticeship Boost, with $64 million allocated to initiative in Budget 2024.
The press statement includes a list of targeted occupations (as defined by the New Zealand Standard Classification of Education code), ensuring that the initiative addresses the most pressing skill gaps and supports the long-term success of the economy.
You can learn more at Apprenticeship Boost – Work and Income
Small Business and Manufacturing Minister Andrew Bayly launched “new cyber security resources” in the form of a programme dubbed “Unmask Cyber Crime”.
It’s great to see he was not launching old cyber security resources.
Unmask Cyber Crime, he says, offers a series of short, educational videos that have been designed to raise awareness and provide small to medium business owners with the confidence to adopt effective cybersecurity practices.
Each video focuses on a specific aspect of cyber security, outlining risks to be aware of and practical steps that can be taken to enhance security. The videos are free and available to all businesses.
The National Cyber Security Centre has launched this initiative on its Own Your Online website: Unmask Cyber Crime: business online security series – Own Your Online.
Bayly did not mention the cost.
In March this year, Cabinet agreed to authorise a further $290 million in capital funding. The current appropriation is therefore $1.88 billion.
But according to Chris Bishop, the project’s original 2017 cost estimates of $1.2 – $1.4 billion “could approach $3 billion, which would make it one of the most expensive hospitals ever built in the southern hemisphere”.
It’s when hospital costs are being measured in the billions – and are ballooning – that the Government seems to balk. Today Shane Reti brought good news to Palmerston North on the hospital front, but the money involved is a matter of just a few million dollars.
The nature of the development is commensurately modest.
Reti announced a funding boost for Palmerston North ED – it is investing an extra $6 million in a package of initiatives “that will provide extra clinical staff, a more efficient process when patients are discharged from hospital, and a more child-friendly experience for children in ED.”
Other minister have been dipping into the coffers too.
Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka has splashed out with a bigger lump of dosh than Reti – but, like the announcements of other ministers today, it’s far short of the billion-dollar mark.
His news was a $35 million Government investment to enable the delivery of 100 affordable rental homes in partnership with Waikato-Tainui.
Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds and Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston announced an investment in “Apprenticeship Boost” to “prioritise critical industries and targeted occupations that are essential to addressing New Zealand’s skills shortages and rebuilding the economy”.
They mentioned the National-NZ First Coalition Agreement, which includes a commitment to continue Apprenticeship Boost, with $64 million allocated to initiative in Budget 2024.
The press statement includes a list of targeted occupations (as defined by the New Zealand Standard Classification of Education code), ensuring that the initiative addresses the most pressing skill gaps and supports the long-term success of the economy.
You can learn more at Apprenticeship Boost – Work and Income
Small Business and Manufacturing Minister Andrew Bayly launched “new cyber security resources” in the form of a programme dubbed “Unmask Cyber Crime”.
It’s great to see he was not launching old cyber security resources.
Unmask Cyber Crime, he says, offers a series of short, educational videos that have been designed to raise awareness and provide small to medium business owners with the confidence to adopt effective cybersecurity practices.
Each video focuses on a specific aspect of cyber security, outlining risks to be aware of and practical steps that can be taken to enhance security. The videos are free and available to all businesses.
The National Cyber Security Centre has launched this initiative on its Own Your Online website: Unmask Cyber Crime: business online security series – Own Your Online.
Bayly did not mention the cost.
Latest from the Beehive
8 October 2024
The Government has reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring New Zealand is a safe and secure place to do business with the launch of new cyber security resources, Small Business and Manufacturing Minister Andrew Ba
Investment in Apprenticeship Boost will prioritise critical industries and targeted occupations that are essential to addressing New Zealand’s skills shortages and rebuilding the economy, Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds and Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston say.
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has announced a funding boost for Palmerston North ED to reduce wait times and improve patient safety and care.
A $35 million Government investment will enable the delivery of 100 affordable rental homes in partnership with Waikato-Tainui, Associate Minister of Housing Tama Potaka says.
The initiatives funded by Shane Reti’s package for Palmerston North Hospital include:
- Establishing a discharge lounge to help patient flow and timely discharge from the hospital, so there is capacity for acute admission from ED
- Additional resources to expand ED capacity, by using the fracture clinic to treat and discharge low acuity ED patients after hours, which will reduce waiting times for these patients
- Staffing for the newly created children’s area of the ED
- Creating an early supported discharge team for older patients
- A system flow coordinator to ensure patients are admitted, transferred or discharged more efficiently.
The development will be on 170 hectares of land owned by Waikato-Tanui within the Hamilton to Auckland transport corridor.
The land was initially confiscated and established as a military camp from 1920 until its return to Waikato-Tainui in 1993
Chair of the Waikato-Tainui executive, Te Arataura, Tukoroirangi Morgan said Hopuhopu was the first land parcel to be given back under the Waikato Raupatu Lands Settlement – its significance to Waikato-Tainui cannot be understated.
The first construction contracts will be awarded in the final quarter of 2024, and it is expected Iwi members will be involved in the construction work.
The Government’s funding contribution has been led out of Te Tūāpapa Kura Kāinga – Ministry of Housing and Urban Development and is delivered through the Whai Kāinga Whai Oranga programme, which enables local affordable housing solutions that are delivered in partnership with Iwi and other Māori land owning entities.
The housing is not intended for non-Maori, presumably.
Point of Order is a blog focused on politics and the economy run by veteran newspaper reporters Bob Edlin and Ian Templeton
1 comment:
So, National takes $30M off Te Reo training but drop $35M into an iwi housing program in Tama Potaka's stomping ground. That figures, no conflict of interest there then? Why can't Tuku Morgan and his mob use the cash already grifted from the public purse to fund this on a good old Maori for Maori basis. Who will have ownership of said housing when completed? One assumes the $35M will be sunk money, never to be seen again.
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