Clare Thinking
Clare Curran, MP for Dunedin South

Community Group formed to protest outsourcing of hospital meals

You may have noticed that community frustration is increasing around the declining standard of hospital meals in Dunedin Hospital.

In response to this, the Real Meals Coalition has been formed by the community, for the community. The group includes Labour, Grey Power Otago Southland, Unions Otago, Unions Southland, the Green Party, New Zealand First, and other local organisations.

The outsourcing of the meals to private provider Compass, has resulted in increased concerns over patient wellbeing and the nutitional value of the meals being served.

Some patients have described the meals as unfit to even feed to their pets. Families are being forced to bring food into the hospital for patients. Staff concerns inside the hospital have been growing. Our friends and families deserve better.

PROTEST: Friday 29 April

The community want their voices to be heard. Enough is enough, and patients in Dunedin Hospital and Invercargil Hospital deserve better than this.

Please join the Real Meals Coalition and myself outside Dunedin Hospital (Great King Street) on Friday 29 April at 12 noon and add your voice to the concerns at the protest.

Our friends, family and loved ones need us to speak up and take a stand.

South Dunedin Flood Report Update

The long overdue council report into the June 2015 flooding was released this week, invoking a strong reaction from the community. South Dunedin residents have waited a long time for answers, and for some accountability for the millions of dollars worth of damage to the area. The fact that 75% of the mud tanks were not up to scratch is simply unacceptable, and that the council refuse to admit this was part of the problem is a slap in the face for the residents who were affected by the floods.

Following a meeting today, the South Dunedin Action and Regeneration Group has issued the following statement responding to the report:

The South Dunedin Action Group today calls on the Dunedin City Council to meet and determine the immediate actions needed to ensure the community’s infrastructure is maintained and is to a standard to protect the community against a flood event such as last June.

Having considered the Infrastructure report on the June floods released this week we are very disappointed that it focuses only on mudtanks, not the entire system reticulation and pipeline, or the Musselburgh pumping station.

We have advice that the stormwater system did not perform to its designed capacity and that the methodology used by the Council to prepare this report is flawed.
It is our view that the extent of the flooding would not have occurred if the system had been operating to its designed capacity.

We note there are no engineering or other practical initiatives to take the community forward.

We would like to focus on an immediate practical action plan for the wider South Dunedin community that addresses the operation of council infrastructure. This must occur before any longer term issues in South Dunedin are addressed.

We are concerned that the infrastructure issues have implications beyond South Dunedin and must be addressed immediately.

We are concerned that there are retailers and residents who are continuing to suffer financially and emotionally due to the distress suffered during the floods and the subsequent uncertainty about South Dunedin’s future.

We will work with the DCC in good faith but we need the Council to acknowledge our concerns and our expertise to reassure this community that South Dunedin is a vital part of Dunedin with a future.

Our focus is on the future and not on affixing blame to individuals and we will work constructively with council to fix these problems.

If you would like to join the group, please contact southdunedinaction@gmail.com

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