The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union says
Hawke’s Bay taxpayers who funded dental treatment for DHB
staff and illegitimate ‘koha’ payments deserve a
refund.
Responding to reports that a Hawke's Bay DHB manager
has resigned after she was found to have misappropriated
funds, Taxpayers’ Union Executive Director Jordan
Williams says, “If the manager can’t provide evidence
that her cash withdrawals were for legitimate spending, she
should pay the money back. It’s not good enough to just
say ‘she’s gone now’ when the taxpayer is still owed
money.”
“If this isn’t resolved, then the DHB
should involve the Police.”
“What’s especially
disturbing is that staff had concerns but didn’t take
action because they knew the manager could become the next
chief executive. This speaks to a culture of secrecy and
brown-nosing that can only lead to further abuses of public
money.”
“We know Hawke’s Bay isn’t the only
DHB with dodgy spending. Waikato DHB’s chief executive
resigned last year after misspending $71,000. The difference is
that he's paying it
back.”
If you're using Scoop for work, your organisation needs to pay a small license fee with Scoop Pro. We think that's fair, because your organisation is benefiting from using our news resources. In return, we'll also give your team access to pro news tools and keep Scoop free for personal use, because public access to news is important!
Should landlords be able to deduct the interest on the loans they take out to bankroll their property speculation? The US Senate Budget Committee and Bloomberg News don't think this is a good idea, for reasons set out below. Regardless, our coalition government has been burning through a ton of political capital by giving landlords a huge $2.9 billion tax break via interest deductibility, while still preaching the need for austerity to the disabled, and to everyone else... More
Government: Concerns Conveyed To China Over Cyber Activity Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity... More
Declining GDP for the December quarter reinforces the importance of restoring fiscal discipline to public spending and driving more economic growth, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says... More
Winston Peters has announced NZ is providing a further $5M to respond to the extreme humanitarian need in Gaza and the West Bank. “The impact of the Israel-Hamas conflict on civilians is absolutely appalling," he said... More
Judith Collins has announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister Jason Scott McHerron as a High Court Judge. Justice McHerron graduated from the University of Otago with a BA in English Literature in 1994 and an LLB in 1996... More