The Act party would stop a billion dollar hospital redevelopment programme in its tracks, Labour health spokesperson Annette King warned today.

"Richard Prebble has to own up. Act's loopy economic approach involves massive tax cuts for the rich, selling state assets to pay the bills and freezing government spending. There is no money at all for new initiatives - Act is saying that what you've got now, is all you're going to have.

"That means a complete withdrawal of government support for the planned new hospitals in Auckland and Wellington and the hospital redevelopments in Oamaru, Greymouth, Tauranga and Nelson.

"Up to $1 billion is scheduled to be spent on these projects over the next three years. But it won't happen under a National-Act government - the money won't be there.

"Voters must realise that a vote for National-Act is a vote for cuts in social spending and an cancellation of long overdue and desperately needed hospital projects," Annette King said.

© Scoop Media

Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>