Minister of Health David Clark has left Napier out in the cold by not appointing a representative on the Hawke’s Bay DHB, MP for Tukituki Lawrence Yule says.
“Napier is a city of almost 70,000 people and had three representatives on the previous DHB. Despite there being 11 members on the Hawke’s Bay DHB, four of which are appointed by the Minister, there will be no representative for Napier.
“This will be incredibly disappointing for Napier. They are only just getting over the loss of their hospital and are still advocating for better health services. No longer having any DHB representation will only add to the frustration.
“The DHB system is set up with Ministerial appointments to fill cultural, geographical and skill gaps.
“Dr Clark has publically stated his wish to have more diversity in governance positions, but in the process he’s left out an entire city. The local Labour MP for Napier is a senior Cabinet Minister, yet let his colleague forget his own electorate.
“There is also no representative from central Hawke’s Bay, despite Mayor Alex Walker asking for one. Once again rural interests are being largely ignored by this Government.
“The entire process by Minister Clark has been a sham. The question has to be asked, if the Minister can ignore the health interests of an entire city, what else can he ignore?”
