An ''ideologically driven'' scheme pushed by an organisation ''on its last legs'' foisted an unpopular and economically harmful hospital food scheme on the South.
That is the verdict of food outsourcing opponent Kay Murray, of Dunedin, commenting on the Auditor-general's inquiry into Health Benefits Ltd (HBL), released this week.
The report identifies poor communication, cost overruns, delays and project problems. HBL was set up to strip cost from the health sector.
''We've had this thing foisted on us, and [it will] cost local jobs,'' Ms Murray said.
Criticism has came from across the political spectrum, the New Zealand Taxpayers' Union saying HBL was ''embarrassing''.
''Labour's Annette King is right to say that the Auditor-general's report is very embarrassing for the Government and the former minister of health, Tony Ryall,'' Taxpayers' Union executive director Jordan Williams said.
''Taxpayers don't want projects meant to save precious health dollars being so poorly managed they fail to deliver and need to be completely restructured by the next minister,'' Mr Williams said.
HBL was disbanded in the middle of this year by Health Minister Dr Jonathan Coleman and another organisation, which is structured differently, has taken its place.
While the food scheme was HBL's brainchild, it was signed off by the Southern District Health Board in May, the month before board members were sacked.
Ms Murray helped organise the petition opposing the scheme, in which meals on wheels will be trucked from Auckland to the South.
''We've been brought into this 15-year contract whether we like it or not, by an organisation that was on its last legs, and that just seems grossly unfair,'' she said.
The South had ''lost an entire local food preparation operation'', she said, adding that some boards declined to be part of it.
Sacked health board member Dr Branko Sijnja said the board had no choice but to adopt the food outsourcing, because of its dire financial position.
''It went against the grain in a big way . . .
''It was an unpleasant decision that we had to make and, if we'd been fired a month earlier, we wouldn't have had to make it.''
He felt sorry for kitchen staff, who waited two years to learn whether their jobs would be outsourced and are still waiting to learn how many will lose their jobs.
''It was a pressure thing that we had to be part of HBL, and we were never particularly happy, and it was no surprise when it all sort of fell over.''
HBL's schemes ignored the ‘‘social impact'' on regional economies and workers, he said.
Controversially, DHBs had to pay off Crown loans taken out by HBL to fund its operations.
''The cost of that whole fiasco with HBL was apportioned across the DHBs. We had to pay a component of that, and we were trying to make ends meet in the Southern DHB, and it added to our debt,'' Dr Sijnja said.
Northland, Hawkes Bay, Waikato and MidCentral health boards have stayed out of the scheme, while three Auckland boards, Nelson Marlborough, Tairawhiti and Southern are in.
NZ Health Partnerships, which took over from HBL, did not respond to requests for an update on the programme.
