Board denies conflict of interest over chief's roles

The Northland District Health Board says it does not fund the Te Tai Tokerau Maori Health Purchasing Organisation (Mapo) or the salary of its chief executive, Lynette Stewart.

Mrs Stewart is also chairwoman of the district health board.

Health board chief executive Karyn McPeake denied a claim by Northland MP John Carter that Te Tai Tokerau Mapo got substantial funding from the board - up to $800,000 a year.

Mr Carter has asked Health Minister Annette King to investigate an alleged potential conflict of interest regarding Mrs Stewart's roles.

He is seeking an explanation from the minister about why Mrs Stewart was reappointed to the chair of the Northland health board for another term while she remains chief executive of Te Tai Tokerau Mapo.

But Ms McPeake said the Mapo is funded by the Ministry of Health, not the health board.

All members of the board were also covered by a code of conduct and were required to submit annual conflict of interest statements.

If there was any perceived conflict of interest on an issue, board members were excluded from the decision-making process, Ms McPeake said.

Mr Carter yesterday acknowledged that Mapo funding came from the Ministry of Health but said that was "irrelevant" when one of the Mapo's roles was monitoring the health board's functions and activities.