Opinion: Green budget aims for a stronger South
Warm cosy homes, local nutritious food, birdsong in the trees and the return of the Southerner: all part of Green Budget we announced last month.
We developed this budget to give advance notice of our priorities once in government and to provide a point of contrast against this government's austerity.
Essentially we put it forward so New Zealanders could see a clear choice: between the common good, where everyone has enough to live well v pure greed, where the extremely wealthy get to decide what scraps to dish out to everyone else.
Like many here in Ōtepoti, we in the Greens have been frustrated and angry at the backsliding and broken promises around the new Dunedin Hospital. With so many redesigns and uncertainty, we've seen waste in terms of time and money and loss of capability and confidence.
Our Green Budget is designed to deliver confidence with a publicly funded southern hospital — including the new inpatient building, a standalone, publicly provided pathology unit and an inter-professional learning centre. It will require public support and we are heartened by commitments made by other opposition parties.
Our own commitment to Ōtepoti Dunedin is fully costed and set out clearly in black and white.
This commitment to our hospital is echoed by my new Youth MP, James Watson.
James hails from Wānaka and works in Wellington. According to him, the hospital is "a key piece of infrastructure that serves all of Otago and even most of Southland at times as the biggest hospital in the area".
"It's disappointing to see the cuts made as we already know the health sector is underfunded," James said.
It's especially unfortunate as much of my family lives in Dunedin and in Otago and to see the willingness to cut back funding on something that would greatly benefit such a huge area including the people I love shows that we aren't prioritising correctly."
Of course, that's not all, and we would love to share more about what our budget has for you and your whānau.
Our co-leader Chloe Swarbrick and the Green Budget Roadshow will be arriving in Ōtepoti Dunedin on July 25 for a public meeting to discuss how we can create an economy that belongs to us all, not just a few.
We can fund a health system that works for everyone. We can ensure warm cosy homes for all and a restored Southerner passenger rail service to Christchurch.
Building our shared future means investment in jobs, infrastructure and climate action.
Chloe Swarbrick always loves visiting our place because of the southern spirit and as James Watson says, we need "a shift in opinions on the climate crisis and all the social issues that intertwine with it".
I hope to see many of you on July 25.
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