Andrew Little was warned to progress the health infrastructure in Northland months before sewage started running down the walls, says Dr Shane Reti, National’s spokesperson for Health and List MP in Whangārei.

“In a letter to Andrew Little on June 28, I expressed concern for progress on Northland’s health infrastructure projects and called on him to address this.

“Now that there is sewage running down the walls, maybe Andrew Little’s failed multi-million-dollar experiment with a Health Infrastructure Unit will do a better job fixing this but, considering it failed two of its three key performance indicators last year, I fear it will go the way of other failed Labour implementations.

“It is also disingenuous for the local Whangārei MP or Minister Little to suggest the long-overdue hospital upgrade in Whangārei was due to a previous National government. People are tired of this rhetoric and Labour needs to own its own dismal track record in health for the past five years and the fact that answers to ministerial questions show the DHB hadn’t even completed the business case for the upgrade in April this year.

“Andrew Little shouldn’t have pooh-poohed my letter. Instead, he should’ve got on with what needed to be done.”

Answers to Written Parliamentary Questions can be found below:

Table 26802 (2021). Annual Ministry of Health key performance indicators for the Health Infrastructure Unit to Dr Shane Reti 6 July 2021

Reply 11529
Portfolio: Health (Hon Andrew Little)
Question: Has a final business case been accepted for the major hospital redevelopment at Whangarei hospital, and if so, what documents describe the final business case, listed by date, title, author and audience ?
Reply: I am advised that the Detailed Business Case for the major redevelopment of Whangarei Hospital has not been completed by Northland District Health Board.