KEY POINTS:
The Government is about to announce its replacements for two of the Auckland health chiefs who oversaw the region's failed laboratory contract.
The departure of Wayne Brown to become the Far North's new mayor, and Metrowater head Ross Keenan, leaves vacancies as chairman and deputy chairman of the Auckland District Health Board, which has this week suffered new fall-out following the contracting process.
Mr Keenan is also the outgoing deputy chairman of the Counties and Waitemata boards, a joint appointment by the Government in 2004 to foster regional collaboration.
After the local elections last month, new Health Minister David Cunliffe is expected to name his appointments to the 21 district health boards and their chairs and deputies next week. The new boards take office on December 10.
Sources tip Pat Snedden, chairman of the Counties Manukau board and formerly a member of the Auckland board - first as a Government appointee and subsequently as an elected member on a Labour-leaning ticket - as a likely successor to Mr Brown.
Mr Snedden, who has a publishing and management consultancy business, said last night, "I don't know what the official position is", but added, "I've enjoyed my life at Counties".
An enthusiastic defender of the Government's health policies and skilled at resolving board-room conflict, he would be a safe pair of hands at the Auckland board, which is often prone to difficulties, although it appears to be over the worst of its financial woes since embarking on its $500 million hospital-rebuilding scheme.
Waitemata chairwoman Kay McKelvie has also been mentioned as a possibility to head the central Auckland board, on which five of the seven elected members after last month's polls - the Government can appoint up to four more members - are new.
A third theory is that the Government will depart from having a regional deputy chair and instead appoint a regional chair - a huge job - with a separate deputy for each board.
The collaboration under Mr Keenan helped produce the $560 million, eight-year contract between Auckland's three health boards and new company Labtests Auckland.
But a judge overturned the contract in March after a challenge from the long-established community laboratory Diagnostic Medlab.
Labtests is appealing.
Mr Keenan and Mr Brown refused to resign over the affair, stoking National's accountability campaign against then-Health Minister Pete Hodgson.
Mr Hodgson asked Auditor-General Kevin Brady to check on conflicts of interest and Mr Brady's report, released on Wednesday, condemns the Auckland board for failing to make significant changes since the court decision.
