Hon David Cunliffe
Minister of Health
17 March 2008 Media Statement
Former board failed basic tests of good governance.
Minister of Health David Cunliffe assures the people of Hawke’s Bay that health services come first and he is committed
to ensuring this is the focus of the District Health Board as it moves forward.
The independent report into the handling of conflicts of interest at Hawke’s Bay DHB has been released by the Director
General of Health today.
Mr Cunliffe, who received the report this morning, said he was satisfied that the report had fulfilled its obligations
under the Terms of Reference.
“The report takes a holistic view of the deeply ingrained and widespread governance issues at Hawke’s Bay DHB.”
Mr Cunliffe thanked the independent expert review panel for their hard work and praised their ability to stick to the
job at hand despite legal threats, personal attacks, misleading statements about the review and selective leaks to the
media.
The report had found there was widespread failure by the Board to manage conflicts of interest.
The review panel found that other Board members also had conflicts of interest that were not properly managed by the
Board. Mr Peter Dunkerly is one of a number of examples
“Mr Dunkerly inadequately declared and managed his conflicts of interest with respect to pharmacy contacts in which he
had an interest. The Board also failed to manage this situation with the degree of care that should be expected when
dealing with millions of dollars of the public’s money.”
The report also found Mr Hausmann could have better managed his conflicts of interest with respect to Wellcare and
Community Services.
The former Chair Mr Atkinson could have also managed these better given that he knew in 2004 Mr Hausmann was involved in
the proposal for community services but did not disclose that to the then Board nor did Mr Atkinson adequately manage
any subsequent conflicts as they arose.
Mr Cunliffe said in essence the report noted a number of failures that pointed to a Board that could not manage its
affairs in an appropriate manner.
“This report is effectively a guide on how not to operate as a Board.”
“It makes a number of recommendations that have an impact on DHBs and the health sector. I will be doing my part to
ensure they are implemented.”
To quote from the report “With the Minister now having taken the step of appointing a Commissioner, the opportunity is
available to reduce any negative impact on health service delivery and to deal with relationship and confidence issues,
so that an incoming board can start afresh.”
Had I not replaced the Board with a Commissioner we would not be reading this report today because of an injunction
preventing publication taken by its former members.”
I agree with independent review panel Chairman Ian Wilson that “urgent and critical changes at Board level had to be
made.”
ENDS