Ryall Tony: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Ryall Tony: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:638;Page:8262] 
4.  
Hon TONY RYALL (National—Bay of Plenty) 
 to the  
Minister of Health 
: Why was Mr Ross Keenan appointed deputy chairman of the three Auckland district health boards and does he have confidence in him in those three roles? 
Hon ANNETTE KING (Minister of State Services) 
 on behalf of the 
 Minister of Health 
: Mr Ross Keenan was appointed by the previous Minister of Health because of his considerable experience in and knowledge of the Auckland health sector including his being a member of what was Counties-Manukau Health from 1999 and also being the chair of the Counties Manukau District Health Board until 2004. He was appointed to carry out the very important task of pulling the three boards together to work collaboratively for the good of the Auckland region. 
Hon Tony Ryall 
: I raise a point of order Madam Speaker. The Minister refused to answer the question about whether she has confidence in Mr Ross Keenan and I wonder whether she would like to complete her answer with your indulgence. 
Hon ANNETTE KING 
: In fact the member asked two questions and I have the right to answer one. But I am happy to say on behalf of the Minister of Health that he has confidence in the role of deputy chair of those three district health boards that Mr Keenan has carried out from 2004. In fact the National Party urged that there be closer cooperation between the boards and one of the reasons the previous Minister looked very carefully at having one experienced person in that role across the Auckland region was to help bring those boards together. 
Hon Tony Ryall 
: Does the Minister have confidence in Mr Ross Keenan? 
Hon ANNETTE KING 
: I have confidence in the work that Mr Ross Keenan has done as deputy chair. If the member is asking whether I have confidence in Mr Ross Keenan in relation to the contract that has been overturned then the answer is the same one I gave yesterday. I believe I will have confidence in the board when I see the services that are provided on 1 July. 
Hon Tony Ryall 
: Did Mr Keenan make any inquiries as to Dr Bierre’s conflicts of interest when Mr McKernan raised the matter with him in June 2005 or was Mr Keenan too eager to have Dr Bierre involved as the judgment says because Mr Keenan thought Dr Bierre’s presence as a board member would support a management view of dealing more aggressively with Diagnostic Medlab? 
Hon ANNETTE KING 
: I am unable to answer that question directly. I believe that the report indicates that Mr Keenan was aware of the conflict of interest which was raised in around June but he too believed that that conflict of interest had been handled. He obviously like Dr Hutchison had a lot of faith in Dr Bierre his reputation and his ability to serve as a board member. He too was no doubt influenced by the international and national reputation of Mr Bierre. 
Hon Tony Ryall 
: Would the Minister have expected his appointee Mr Keenan to express to board members his concern that Dr Bierre was involved in the Labtests Auckland bid in light of Mr Keenan’s ongoing correspondence and detailed discussions with Dr Bierre during the formative stages of the laboratory services contracting in Auckland? 
Hon ANNETTE KING 
: There is no doubt that Dr Bierre managed to hoodwink not only Mr Brown and the rest of the board members but also the deputy chair of the three district health boards because in July 2005 Dr Bierre said he had mothballed any proposals he had. He was taken to be a man of honour and integrity and as such his word was taken that he had mothballed such proposals. I believe that the chair and the deputy chair had the right to believe that a man’s word was his bond. In this case it was not. 
Hon Tony Ryall 
: Has the Minister received any advice on what action his predecessor Annette King took to prevent a situation where poor performance by her appointees has resulted in an unprecedented court judgment setting aside a contract worth half a billion dollars and highlighting the mismanagement performance of her appointees? 
Hon ANNETTE KING 
: It is interesting that the inappropriate behaviour in this case was not from an appointee of the previous or the current Minister of Health but from a member of a district health board who was elected on a Citizens and Ratepayers ticket—which is the National Party as everybody knows. I am amazed that Tony Ryall would be pointing the finger at a member who was elected from his own party.