After a seemingly endless parade of red tape, government interventions, political grandstanding, elections and Otago being Otago, the University of Waikato finally got the answer to the question of a third medical school in New Zealand. That answer was a resounding YES / NO  

The abiding reality is that you, dear reader, will know the answer by now. If we have worked hard, you will have seen our online coverage of the decision, our interviews with staff, students at Open Day, and probably the occasional duck. 

But it is 10.37 am on deadline day. A day that also happens to be budget day. Decision day for the medical school, and just for context a day when Manchester United lost to Spurs in a European Final.  The last part just adds to the tension in the room as our Managing Editor and Editor in Chief are on two different sides, and there may be a whiskey-fuelled episode today. 

With Nexus needing to go to print at almost exactly the same time as the decision will be made, we faced a difficult decision. Either we forgo the promised Pizza and Beer as we watch the budget and work with printers and suppliers to delay the deadline, or we open this piece with a line that says CIRCLE AS APPROPRIATE. 

That isn’t to say we have ceded all journalistic integrity. We reached out to a number of sources who would usually have told us the answer by now. And failing that, we reached out to former MPs on both sides of the aisle to get comments about what a medical school will mean. If you can’t see either of those in the article, it is because David Bennett and Jamie Strange may also be Spurs fans! 

While the rest of this article will be filled with a timeline of events that led us here, we want to be unequivocal. Nexus supports the building of a Medical School at the University of Waikato. Yes, we want everything that brings funding and more students. We are relishing writing an article every fortnight, blaming med students for a parking crisis. But more than that, we acknowledge that our health system, while not broken, is at least a little fractured. Doctors and nurses are both understaffed and underpaid. We are reliant on a skilled migrant workforce. A third medical school is a necessity; an iwi-based partnership is essential. We need more doctors and nurses, and we need them now. Nexus wants to thank everyone who has worked to achieve this so far. 

NOW FOR THE INITIAL REACTIONS… 

It isn’t that this budget didn’t do enough for the tertiary sector; it didn’t do anything for Students. Those same students who are struggling with the cost-of-living crisis today and don’t think they will be able to afford a house, ongoing medical costs, or lack job security, will leave today feeling worse than they did before. That is the broad message to students. This is before you take into account  Gender equity pay changes or the fact that the National Kiwisaver is rising to 4% while Māori life expectancy is not aligned with the pension age. This was a classic example of Austerity for the poor, working class and minorities.  

– Temepara Smith WSU President 

I fully support a medical school at Waikato University, and did so during my time as an MP. We have the same population as Queensland, and they have four medical schools. A Waikato medical school would particularly serve our rural population, providing more doctors in the regions of New Zealand.  

– Former Hamilton East Labour MP Jamie Strange (Pre-announcement). 

To clarify the capitalist jargon, $100M as a ‘venture capital fund’ operates as a tax break for the biggest businesses of Aotearoa. A little sleight of hand from the coalition to their wealthy friends. $577M as international screen productions rebates is likely a response to Trump’s tariff on imported cinema so our domestic film industry doesn’t tank completely. A headline for domestic film, or even arts, investment would be cooler. Don’t worry, at least you get $100M over four years to help with math tests that AI definitely won’t pass for you. $12B from the pockets of women in some of our most crucial fields, nursing, education, elderly care, is not only an insult but also clear evidence of an austerity budget that doesn’t mind sacrificing fairness. When Nicola Willis announced this “isn’t an austerity budget” a choir of boos resonated around parliament. And the Nexus office. Yet again in NZ politics – the beehive’s decision making will be most felt. Children in poverty better not be at the skatepark or looking after family cos $140M was just pumped into truancy efforts, the implications of which likely include more young folk in state care. I’ll leave you on the coalitions most shortsighted and blatantly stupid spend, a $200M dollar fund for gas exploration and extraction. 

– Toby Brockelbank Nexus Editor