A public relations expert who cost taxpayers more than $20,000 when he was hired to manage fallout from the expenses scandal at Waikato District Health Board wrote the chairman's resignation letter to Health Minister David Clark.
Senate SHJ general manager Julien Leys was hired by then board chairman Bob Simcock to cope with intense public scrutiny and "reset the media narrative'' when chief executive Dr Nigel Murray resigned in October last year following an investigation into his expenses.
Dr Murray was found to have breached travel policy at the DHB on some of the $218,000 of public money he spent over three years travelling for work.
But Mr Leys - whose invoices were paid by the Ministry of Health - also advised Mr Simcock on issues directly affecting his reputation, culminating in writing the chairman's resignation letter, according to emails released under the Official Information Act.
Mr Leys' work included:
• Formulating a timeline around Dr Murray's controversial recruitment after Mr Simcock was called on by critics to resign because he had been warned not to hire the chief executive in June 2014;
• Containing the damage to Mr Simcock's "position/reputation'' following an open letter from a board member who expressed no confidence in the chairman;
• Writing Mr Simcock's resignation letter to Dr Clark and a press release announcing Mr Simcock would stand down on November 28.
Mr Leys sent at least three invoices to Mr Simcock who forwarded them to Ministry of Health director of critical projects Michael Hundleby for payment.
A fourth invoice brought the total to $20,859.
This was despite the DHB having its own in-house communications department and executive director of public and organisational affairs.
In one email dated October 10, 2017, Mr Leys reiterated his advice that the board stay "in control of the facts and keep it simple''.
"The attack to your position/reputation by Dave M [board member Dave Macpherson] is being couched in emotional/political terms that will appeal even though it is factually incorrect. I am working up a holding statement and Q&A.''
The statement, withheld by the DHB, was a "last resort'' if Mr Simcock was "pushed into a corner'' where the facts needed to be corrected or emphasised, Mr Leys wrote.
Mr Simcock said he hired Mr Leys on advice from the State Services Commission and Ministry of Health, which recommended the DHB engage external support to manage media pressure at the time of the investigation into Murray's expenses
"I believe it was their view that DHBs are ill-equipped to manage that level of attention,'' Mr Simcock said.
He said the board was aware of the engagement and Senate SHJ was selected from a list of possible consultants provided by the ministry.
"Mr Leys's job was to help the DHB ensure the public had access to accurate and balanced information where that was appropriate.
"Clearly we were not always successful in that regard.''
Up until the day before he resigned, Mr Simcock's emails show he was focused on remaining head of the board.
On Monday, November 27, 2017, Mr Simcock replied to interim chief executive Derek Wright asking him to hold off officially making public a damning Audit New Zealand report into Dr Murray's spending.
"Julien Leys is working on a statement from me that we might use to try to reset the media narrative. Is there any reason the audit release cannot wait until Thursday?,'' he wrote.
The next day, The New Zealand Herald ran a front page story about the Serious Fraud Office making preliminary inquiries into the case.
Mr Simcock failed to show at a Waikato Regional Council meeting he was chairing and an email to him from Mr Leys at 2.06pm entitled "Finalised media release and letter to Minister'' included a draft letter of resignation to the health minister.
The letter stated Mr Simcock had tried to do what he thought was best for the DHB but it also criticised a board member.
A spokesman for Dr Clark's office said the minister could not comment while the State Services Commission investigation into Dr Murray's expenses was ongoing.
