Hawke’s Bay District Health Board—Conflicts of Interest Report

Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE (Minister of Health) Link to this

The independent panel found that the board’s handling of conflicts of interest in general could not pass even the most basic thresholds of good governance. Secondly, it found that conflicts of interest were wide ranging and poorly handled. The panel was particularly critical of the previous chair, Kevin Atkinson, and also a longstanding board member, Peter Dunkerley, in that regard. Thirdly, the panel found that Mr Hausmann could have done a better job of managing his conflicts of interest. Fourthly, the panel found that a seriously eroded and dysfunctional relationship existed between the board and management, and it was readily apparent that it could not be resolved without external input. In short, as the independent panel chair has said, the board was approaching a railway crossing whose lights were flashing, but was carrying on anyway.