6. Question No. 6—HealthHon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE (National) to the Minister of HealthQuestion No. 6—Health 6. Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE (National) to the Minister of Health: On what date did he first read the report he received on 21 June entitled DHB Sector Financial Performance for the ten month period ended 30 April 2019"?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK (Minister of Health): Kia orana Mr Speaker. I receive a range of advice on district health board (DHB) performance including regular updates on financial performance. Those briefings clearly demonstrate the consequences of years of deliberate—SPEAKER: Order! [Interruption] Order! The member will resume his seat. It's a very direct question and talking about other stuff before the member has actually addressed the very direct question is out of order.Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: In terms of the report the member specifically asks about I read and signed it out on 1 August but I was well aware of its contents before that having discussed the individual circumstances of many DHBs with their chairs directly. I am acutely aware of the challenges that DHBs face in delivering the services that people need—given the history of underfunding estimated at $2.3 billion by Infometrics research—whilst they at the same time work towards financial sustainability.Hon Michael Woodhouse: Doesn't he think he should have read that latest document outlining not only the DHBs' financial performance but the projected full-year financial performance when he had already taken action at Canterbury DHB and Waikato DHB in part due to their ballooning deficits?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: As I say I regularly receive reports on the DHBs' individual circumstances and discuss with the DHB chairs their financial positions. Where we have become concerned that they haven't mapped out a path to sustainability we have acted. Over half of the deficits projected belong to just four DHBs and one of those commissioners was put in place by the previous Government. I have put Crown monitors into the other three. And one of them where I became concerned that there was no path being mapped out to sustainability I have moved further and put a commissioner in place. But first and foremost I am concerned that New Zealanders get the services they expect and deserve.Hon Michael Woodhouse: Does the Ministry of Health only publish financial information on his direction?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: Certainly not.Hon Michael Woodhouse: Why then did the Ministry of Health not publish the information once it had been finalised?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: There is a normal process for ensuring that the data is being checked by the Minister and the Minister's office which the Minister is familiar with—in this case the financial wash-ups and the underlying direction. When I became aware that it hadn't been signed out I asked for the documentation and signed it out the very same day.Hon Michael Woodhouse: So if he directed the ministry to publish the information is he also saying that he directed the ministry prior to that not to publish the information?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: Mr Speaker I'm not sure how that follows.SPEAKER: I'm just going to—no. It is within the realm of the Minister to say that the assertion's not correct because I think there was an assertion in the beginning of the question which was not consistent with the previous answer.Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: I reject the assertion that the member makes. I am focused firmly on the performance of our DHBs acknowledging the significant underfunding that they've had. The member will probably not be surprised to learn that we're also dealing with some other problems we inherited including the previous Government's failure to pay out properly under the Holidays Act—employees have not been paid properly for a decade and we are concerned to provision for that; we will see that the final figure will take that into account—and also the failure of oversight with the implementation of an IT system across the sector and there'll be a write-off associated with that as well. The underlying deficit of course is projected to be closer to $400 million but we'll wait to where the final figures get to just acknowledging that of course we are dealing with those three big issues of underfunding failure to provision to pay properly the employees and also the failure of oversight with the IT system that was being implemented under the previous Government's watch.Hon Chris Hipkins: Can the Minister confirm that district health boards' annual reports are tabled in the House and available to any member who wants to read them?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: I am very happy to confirm that. There is no great conspiracy around this data. It is all made transparent when it's appropriately finalised.Hon Michael Woodhouse: When it comes to DHB financial performance is he completely disinterested or completely disorganised?Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: No.SPEAKER: Question No. 8 Angie—sorry Question No. 7 the Hon Louise Upston. That was a Freudian slip which might have been appropriate given the interjection that came."