The man at the centre of a conflict-of-interest wrangle at Hawkes Bay District Health Board claims all of his actions were permitted by the board chairman and he has nothing against the whistleblower who thrust him in the spotlight.
Peter Hausmann, managing director of Healthcare of New Zealand,
yesterday invited media to his Wellington office to hear a personal statement in which he strongly defended his actions. However, he refused to answer questions from reporters.
Mr Hausmann said health board chairman Kevin Atkinson gave him the go-ahead to talk with management about the development of terms of reference for a tender for a contract potentially worth up to $50 million.
Work towards that contract was ended after a whistleblower became concerned that Mr Hausmann - a health board member - knew more about the work than he ought to given that his company was pursuing the contract.
Mr Hausmann yesterday referred to a statement by Mr Atkinson in which the chairman confirmed he had authorised some contact between Mr Hausmann and management.
"I now feel vindicated," Mr Hausmann said, "and I look forward to seeing some public acknowledgement that my behaviour has been appropriate throughout this process."
But Mr Atkinson yesterday said he had given Mr Hausmann permission to talk about the development of terms of reference only for due diligence to be done on Healthcare New Zealand.
The board wanted due diligence so that it knew the company could deliver what the contract would eventually have required.
Mr Atkinson said Mr Hausmann had been discussing the terms of reference of a feasibility study, which included a trip to several countries to look at different models of how to deliver community services.
That was not what the board had authorised him to talk about with management, Mr Atkinson said.
The health board has sent a letter to the Auditor-General's office requesting a full investigation into the conflict of interest.
