Ryall Tony: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Ryall Tony: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:640;Page:10380] 
6.  
Hon TONY RYALL (National—Bay of Plenty) 
 to the  
Minister of Health 
: Does he stand by his verdict on the inquiry into conflicts of interest at Hawke’s Bay District Health Board that “I don’t think there’s going to be much to be found”; if so why? 
Hon PETE HODGSON (Minister of Health) 
: 
 Yes I do. The Hawke’s Bay District Health Board considered the issue of conflicts of interest 18 months ago and cancelled the request for proposal process at that time. That is the board’s role. Legal advice to the board at that time did not find that Mr Hausmann’s company had been particularly advantaged. My remarks simply reflect my best guess that the second time round the findings are likely to be similar. However the terms of reference have been made very broad so that any stone that needs to be turned can be. 
Hon Tony Ryall 
: Why has the Minister agreed to one of his political appointees investigating this matter someone who is beholden to him for his job rather than involving the independent Auditor-General especially given that the allegations involve conflicts of interest and various political links: a Labour Party appointee a personal friend of the previous Minister of Health and the chief executive of the hospital board who is a former executive assistant of Helen Clark? 
Hon PETE HODGSON 
: The member continues to draw long bows. Let me remind him of the sequence of events. I asked the director-general to look at these issues afresh after I received a letter from Mr Hausmann asking for such a review. I then asked the director-general to broaden the inquiry when issues concerning the whistleblower were raised in the media. The Ministry of Health has been in touch with the Auditor-General’s office more than once so that each knows what the other is contemplating. The Auditor-General has indicated that he does not intend to undertake an inquiry of his own at this time though of course his office reserves the right to inquire into whatever it likes whenever it likes. 
Ann Hartley 
: What differences if any exist between the possibility of the mismanagement of conflicts of interest in the Hawke’s Bay District Health Board and the case involving three Auckland district health boards? 
Hon PETE HODGSON 
: The differences are very stark. In the case of the Hawke’s Bay District Health Board Mr Hausmann’s potential conflict of interest was known at the time of his appointment and was recorded from the outset. In the case of the Auckland district health boards one board member had a conflict of interest that kept changing was not always known to other board members and was certainly not updated in anything resembling an open and a transparent manner. In the event that board member’s behaviour led to a large contract being overturned by the High Court at a very high cost to the health system. I refer of course to National Party member Dr Bierre. 
Hon Tony Ryall 
: Is the Minister confident that Mr Hausmann has been completely open and transparent as to the level of his involvement in the community services issue in Hawke’s Bay; if not what action is he going to take? 
Hon PETE HODGSON 
: Mr Hausmann claims transparency and openness and has himself been the first person to ask for such a review. However the review now that it is under way will come to its own findings and I look forward to them. 
Hon Tony Ryall 
: Will the Minister agree with me that in fact he knew that letter from Mr Hausmann was coming because the Government knew these details were going to be released in an Official Information Act request that would soon be made available to the National Party and that all that the Hausmann letter shows is that Labour is involved in a sham cover-up to try to get Annette King off the hook? 
Hon PETE HODGSON 
: The member accords himself an importance that is probably higher than Mr Hausmann or indeed the Hawke’s Bay District Health Board might accord him. It is true that Mr Hausmann had written to me on the basis that he had used language such as that there had been continuing innuendo against him and on that basis he had asked for a review. It seemed to me given that the first review had been done by the Hawke’s Bay Health Board and was the source of some of the ongoing innuendo that Mr Hausmann spoke about it would be smart if I were to get a third party to take a look and that is what the director-general has put together. 
Hon Tony Ryall 
: When did the Minister first become aware that official documents would be released to show the full extent of Mr Hausmann’s involvement in this matter which is way beyond what has been reported to date and what action did the Minister take? 
Hon PETE HODGSON 
: I afraid I cannot give the member a direct answer to the question; there are some hundreds of official information releases each year. It would however have been in recent weeks. 
Hon Tony Ryall 
: Does the Minister want to reconsider his comments made earlier in question time when he said that all guidelines and procedures were followed in respect of Mr Hausmann’s appointment and would he care to confirm or will he not confirm—because he cannot—that there was no interview panel called of a ministry official the district health board chairman and a local iwi representative although that is required in the Government’s own guidelines for the appointment of district health board members? 
Hon PETE HODGSON 
: The Ministry of Health advice on this matter is very clear. Its advice is that the appointment of Mr Hausmann met all of the ministry’s standards that the potential conflict of interest was identified at the outset—as was the obligation to manage it—that no shortcuts were taken at all and that the particular issue about the nature of the interview is at variance with the facts. The facts are that whenever there are one-off appointments to district health boards at any time in between elections the panel of interviewers that the member speaks of is not called—not for any of them. The member chooses to ignore that fact and in doing so he manages to disturb the truth. 
Hon Tony Ryall 
: In putting together the panel in this sham inquiry was Noel Ingram not available? 
Hon PETE HODGSON 
: The panel was put together by the Director-General of Health.