East Auckland patients are being told a new hospital at Drury will eventually take pressure off Middlemore.
Budget 2026 set aside money to acquire land for a new hospital south of Auckland, announced on 28 May by Health Minister Simeon Brown, who is also the MP for Pakuranga.
“Work is already underway, with Health New Zealand identifying a suitable site in the Drury area as part of early planning for the new hospital,” Mr Brown said.
Howick, Pakuranga, Botany, Flat Bush and East Tamaki sit inside the Counties Manukau district, whose main hospital is Middlemore.
Mr Brown named that hospital when he set the land search in motion in March.
“Our major Auckland hospitals, including Middlemore and Auckland City, are already under significant pressure as they work to meet growing demand,” he said then.
Health New Zealand issued a request for proposal to Drury landowners after a request for information went to the market in October 2025.
The Minister said Drury was chosen for its proximity to transport corridors and planned public transport links.
The land is intended to be large enough for a major general hospital and a wider health precinct.
Budget 2026 provides more than $680 million of capital spending across the health system.
That covers a 158 bed ward tower at Whangarei Hospital, design and enabling work at Tauranga, Hawke’s Bay and Palmerston North, the Drury land, and upgrades at Auckland’s Mason Clinic.
Health New Zealand will separately spend $930 million over the coming year on equipment, technology and facility improvements.
Planning and design work to expand the network of linear accelerator machines includes South Auckland, which would add radiation treatment capacity for cancer patients in the district.
The spending was challenged at Parliament’s Health Select Committee on 17 June.
Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall told Mr Brown his own officials had warned the health infrastructure plan “significantly exceeds previous appropriations”, “may prove unaffordable” and was “not clearly factored into the forecasts”.
“Oh look,” Mr Brown replied. “Some people are unambitious.”
Total Crown health spending this year reaches $34.2 billion, about a ten per cent increase on last year.
Neither the Budget announcement nor the March release gives a purchase price, a confirmed site, a construction start or an opening date.
