ACT Insists On The Whole Truth

SACT New Zealand Health Spokesman Heather Roy today labelled the Review Panel's Report into Conflict of Interest Allegations at Hawkes Bay District Health Board as nothing more than the expected whitewash, and called on Health Minister David Cunliffe to refer the entire process over to the Auditor-General for a truly independent review.

"The report, released today, contains absolutely no mention whatsoever of the involvement of then Health Minister Annette King," Mrs Roy said.

"Ms King's appointment of Mr Hausmann to the Board was widely known to have been an integral part of the problem - making it surprising that there is no mention in the report of whether this process was conducted properly and Mr Haussman appointed appropriately.

"It is also very surprising to see that there is very little mention of the role that HBDHB's management played in the Conflict of Interest issues - yet it seems clear that management involvement contributed directly to the allocation of funding.

"The report strongly and sweepingly criticises other Boardmembers for failing to adequately disclose their conflicts of interest - despite the fact that publicly-available minutes of HBDHB meetings show that several members, on many occasions, declared conflicts and withdrew from both discussions and votes.

"This report raises many more questions than it answers. The only fair way to deal with the Conflict of Interest allegations at HBDHB is to immediately hand the entire process to the Auditor-General for a truly independent review spanning from early 2005 - when Ms King approached Mr Hausmann about joining the Board - right through to Mr Cunliffe's sacking of the Board last month.

"Good people's reputations are at risk, and the truth must be brought to light. This is reason enough for an independent review. Most importantly, however, the people of Hawkes Bay should be assured that their health priorities are paramount and past mistakes are not repeated," Mrs Roy said.