10. RUSSELL FAIRBROTHER (Labour) Link to this
to the Minister of Health
What reports has he received on governance issues at the Hawke’s Bay District Health Board?
Madam SPEAKER
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE (Minister of Health) Link to this
I have received a range of reports and other information that relate to governance problems at Hawke’s Bay District Health Board. For example, when I made my decision to remove the board, over the last couple of months I had been aware of a consistent pattern of public commentary, by the board, that is at odds with established convention and practice, including: 10 December 2007, former chairman Atkinson in Hawke’s Bay Today, noting that his views on governance appear to differ from those of the Ministry of Health’s independent review panel; 18 December 2007, Kevin Atkinson in Hawke’s Bay Today, quoted in an editorial: “…Mr Atkinson yesterday told the board the health of Hawke’s Bay people was being jeopardised by the ministry’s delay.” in the governance review, which he then subsequently sought an injunction to further delay; 10 February 2008, in Hawke’s Bay Today, National MPs Craig Foss and Chris Tremain claim the sale of the Napier Hospital site will be used to fund deficits contrary to Ministry of Health policy and ministerial directive, just days after meeting Mr Atkinson, who reportedly refused to allow the chief executive officer to attend the meeting; Thursday 14 February, Dr David Davidson, board member, on Checkpoint, a Radio New Zealand National programme, described the lack of permanent appointments to the board as very destabilising, notwithstanding the delay to the governance report that his own board was a party to; Wednesday 13 February, Kevin Atkinson, commenting in the Dominion Post, saying about the year-end deficit “that it was never a realistic goal to cut $5 million from the board’s costs, but it had factored that expectation into its budget simply to get it signed off from the health minister,”; Thursday 21 February, Kevin Atkinson attacked Dr Richard Tustin, who was critical of the board in Hawke’s Bay Today, saying he never got on with his colleagues and was leaving the organisation in a week. I am advised that Dr Tustin is now suing the former chair for defamation. I was concerned about the chair’s public statements that he had written to me five times and not received a reply, when I had received one letter that had already been duly responded to.
Russell Fairbrother Link to this
What new information has come to light since the Minister made his decision?
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE Link to this
A great deal of further information has since come to light. I will mention some of it. I have now seen the full management report on the district health board, as issued by Audit New Zealand. I have had an opportunity to review two early board governance reports that made many recommendations, and I understand that most of those recommendations were not implemented. I have also seen further details on the Royston elective services contract. As previously stated, the members of the board’s finance and audit committee that agreed the contract for the district health board did so against the advice of management and lawyers and notwithstanding a number of actual and potential conflicts on the part of those making the decisions that were not fully declared, and this was followed by the chairman’s substituting management’s official minutes of the decision with his own.
Hon Tony RyallHas the Minister received any information from the chief executive of Hawke’s Bay District Health Board to explain why he has colluded with Peter Hausmann to provide him with an advance copy of a tender document to allow Mr Hausmann to make the changes that favoured his company and that Mr Chris Clarke accepted, and has the Minister found out what the pay-off was?
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE Link to this
Those matters are likely to be the subject of the independent governance report that is being conducted by the Director-General of Health, but I would invite the member to repeat the imputation outside the House.