RADIO NEW ZEALAND: The National Party is defending a letter it sent to Auckland District Health Board telling it not to generate positive news coverage for the Government.
The letter reminds the health board that the country is now in the pre-election period where there are rules about how state sector organisations will behave.
National's health spokesperson, Tony Ryall, has written to the board's chief executive warning him it would be "totally innappropriate" to generate positive news coverage for the Government.
Mr Ryall says he heard from a reliable source that media staff at the health board may be planning such news, which he says would be partisan.
"We think New Zealanders would rather that money and effort is going into frontline services for patients, rather than public relations campaigns in support of the Government.
"That, of course, is against the State Services Commission rules, and that's what we pointed out to the district health board."
Health Minister David Cunliffe says it is blatant political interference by National and Mr Ryall should apologise for his attempt to bully the board.
"It's an outrageous own goal on Mr Ryall's part - it shows a very poor understanding of the governance processes in the health sector. He's accusing a district health board of politicising their role without any apparent evidence that they've done so."
Auckland District Health Board chief executive Garry Smith says it will not change any practices as a result of the letter and will continue to abide by official guidelines.
Scrutiny welcomed
State Services Commissioner Ian Rennie says he welcomes public scrutiny by any political party over how government agencies operate in the lead-up to the election.
Mr Rennie defended the protocol, saying there are strict impartial guidelines to follow, particularly during the three months before election day.
Mr Rennie says Mr Ryall's concerns are not new and he recalls similar issues during the past 20 years.
The election will be held on 8 November.
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