Creepy National Party tactics
DHBs fear minister's intrusion
District health board bosses have been told to run official information requests past the health minister, raising fears their independence will be undermined. In a letter sent to all DHB chief executives at the end of June and obtained by The Dominion Post, Health Ministry staffer Oliver Poppelwell asked boards to supply Tony Ryall's office with copies of all requests under the Official Information Act, which allows the public and media to ask for information from any government body. The minister's staff would also liaise with boards about the response "on occasion". The Dominion Post understands several district health boards have raised concerns with the Health Ministry about the requirement, fearing their independence could be jeopardised. Brenda Pilott, national secretary of the Public Service Association, said the directive was concerning. "That degree of ministerial control is unusual behaviour and is not a welcome development."
Wow – I thought ramming through legislation in a pack rape of the select committee process by misusing the power of urgency so that law National were passing couldn’t be debated was extreme. I thought breaching privacy law to denigrate beneficiaries for daring to question policy was extreme. I thought National and ACT annexing Auckland and putting Rodney’s handpicked mates while working on a blueprint to privatize the city was extreme, but this takes the cake. Tony Ryall wants to run the Eye of Mordor over any official information request in the health sector before any information is sent out? Ryall has been quietly working on a privatization agenda for Health and his desire to vet any official information request should send a deep chill down many NZers backs. Tony claims he wants a ‘no surprises’ policy, but will it be that or will it be a way for the Government to see how they can stop that information being released? The spirit of the Official Information Act is that the information gets released, it isn’t a vetting instrument for Ryall to decide what he can try and smother.
Sure, that’s change, but not for good.
posted by Bomber @ 7:24 am
4 comments
4 Comments:
This is very Daddy State isn't it? Are they working towards blocking the Official Information Act I wonder.
Scary stuff.
NS
Not to defend the indefensible, but I worked in a Govt department under the previous administration and all OIA requests had to be run past the sitting Minister.
That degree of Ministerial control is not unusual at all.
Ummm, which department sean14? The system was voluntary in Health prior to this.
Has it not occured to you that the army of labour sympathisers that have been shoehorned into the dhb's might be feeling a little nervous about changes the govt might be looking to make.
I don't hold any strong opinions on what we should do with Health but it does strike me as scandalous that in a time when more money is being spent than ever before people are still waiting for treatment while there is spare capacity in the private system.
Denying people treatment based on political doctrine is disgusting.
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