The health minister was confronted on Friday by noisy protesters after his announcement about the new Dunedin Hospital, with one protester hitting his car with their placard.
Simeon Brown said the new $1.8 billion hospital will have 351 beds - 59 fewer than originally proposed, but with capacity to expand to 404 beds over time.
Brown said the plan would deliver certainty to the people of Dunedin, within the budget.
About 100 protesters gathered at the site of the announcement, chanting throughout.
As Brown left, protesters blocked his exit, yelling at his car, accusing him of lying, and chanting "build it once, build it right", as well as "public health, not private wealth".
Protesters were moved back by police.
Dunedin locals angry about plans for the new Dunedin hospital. Photo: Delphine Herbert / RNZ
Last year, a government-commissioned report found plans for the long-awaited hospital could not be delivered within the $1.2 billion-$1.4 billion budget set in 2017. It projected the costs would balloon to $3b, a figure the coalition described as unaffordable.
The current hospital had 367 beds, according to a Te Whatu Ora document from 2023.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon was not concerned that protesters had disrupted two ministerial announcements on Friday.
Protesters also attempted to disrupt Resources Minister Shane Jones' speech announcing the government's minerals strategy in Waih
Luxon had no concerns for his ministers' safety.
"We don't talk about our security issues, but we have good protections in place. But more importantly, we live in a democracy, we live in a democracy and people are free to express their point of view," he said.
Luxon was more interested in the announcements themselves.
"You're seeing Simeon Brown, as a new health minister, come to the South to say to the people of the South, 'we're going to build you a fantastic hospital.' It's going to be adaptable, it's going to be able to expand, it's going to be future-proofed, and if you're living in Southland, living in Otago, living in Dunedin, we're going to build you a great hospital exactly as we committed to," Luxon said.
"We inherited a hospital pass, literally, on it. But we're fixing it and cleaning it up and going to deliver it."
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