When Parliament resumed at 2pm Health Minister Jonathan Coleman made a ministerial statement on his decision to replace the board of the Southern District Health Board with a Commissioner.
Dr Coleman said new approaches needed to be taken the DHB’s long standing financial problems. The DHB’s deficit made up a significant proportion of the overall sector’s deficits.
The Southern DHB was funded on the same basis as others, but unlike most of them it had not been able to come to terms with its responsibilities. The turnaround of the position would be hard work and may take some time.
Labour’s David Clark said the most surprising thing about the decision was the time it took to come to it. The Government seemed to have become lost in the politics of the situation and there was no point in maintaining a charade of ministers not being involved in the issue.
The minister’s claim funding was adequate failed to take into account the unique circumstances of the Southern DHB and it was time the funding model was reviewed, Dr Clark said.
Following the Ministerial Statement and speeches in reply the NZ Super Funds statement of performance expectation was presented and MPs began Question Time.
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