Chair’s plea letter to Govt ‘crude, rude’

The former chair of the cashstrapped Canterbury District Health Board (CDHB) sent a letter drafted for him by Health Ministry officials to the Government saying the board could work within its existing budget.

It was, he says, a necessary bid to secure funding for the $72 million Christchurch Outpatients building, however, the move was made without the approval or knowledge of the board and contrary to the advice of the chief executive. ‘‘We couldn’t believe he could do that,’’ CDHB board member Anna Crighton told RNZ, in reference to the 2015, letter then-board chair Murray Cleverley sent to the ministers of health and finance.

‘‘We’d been fighting for more money, and we were in exceptional circumstances . . . after the earthquake.’’

On December 10, 2015, a ministry official emailed Cleverley’s personal account with a draft letter to then-Health Minister Jonathan Coleman and Finance Minister Bill English, documents released under the Official Information Act show.

The letter was in Cleverely’s name and stated the CDHB ‘‘acknowledges the Crown’s expectation’’ it could cover its capital spending using existing Government funding and its own resources. Cleverley sent the letter to CDHB chief executive David Meates, who replied giving a list of reasons why it should not be sent, referencing the scale of the earthquake damage and the extra $200m the DHB needed.

The letter, essentially unchanged except for a CDHB letterhead and Cleverley’s signature, was sent to English and Coleman the next day.

Cleverley resigned from his roles as chair of the Canterbury and South Canterbury DHBs last year following an inquiry into allegations of conflict of interest involving Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority staffers he oversaw.

He said it was irrelevant who wrote the letter and that what mattered was that it featured his signature. ‘‘We can stand by process and protocol all we like but ... it was important to get it done.’’

Crighton said she was not aware of the letter until the following February, and said its assertion – that the CDHB could make do with its level of funding – was wrong in the post-quake environment.

Fellow board member Jo Kane said she was ‘‘pretty pissed off’’ when she found out about the letter. ‘‘It’s a cut and paste . . . crude, rude, just lacking in any sort of integrity, lacking in any sort of professional nous.’’

Ministry director-general of health Stephen McKernan confirmed the letter was drafted by ministry officials ‘‘for the DHB’’ after discussions with Cleverley. A Christchurch City councillor says he’s sorry if anyone was offended, but he doesn’t regret his comment about Merivale women at a council meeting.

During a long-term plan funding discussion on Monday, councillor Aaron Keown made a comparison between Banks Peninsula and Merivale wives. ‘‘I look at Banks Peninsula as more like a Merivale wife – they look really good, but very expensive,’’ he said.

Keown yesterday apologised to anyone who ‘‘may be offended by the comment’’, but said it was meant as a humorous compliment.

‘‘The intention was never to offend anybody – it was meant as a compliment. If they haven’t taken it as a