Chair of the Otago District Health Board sacked. 31 January 2009.

A dog with the head of Health Minister, Tony Ryall, barks furiously at Richard Thomson, the chair of the Otago District Health Board, who is standing at a hospital window. Prime Minister, John Key, (who broke his arm in an accident) tells Ryall that Thomson is 'not going to budge' and that he should 'try Bainimarama instead'. Refers to the conviction for fraud of two of Richard Thomson's staff; Thomson himself was held accountable and eventually replaced, though not before he had told Tony Ryall that he wasn't going to resign and that Ryall should show the courage of his convictions and sack him, because the fraud had begun before he had even joined the ODHB and he himself had initiated the investigation which brought the matter to a head. A defiant Mr Thomson told NZPA he believed the real motivation to sack him was because he was a Labour Party member. Mr Ryall's decision reeked of political interference, he said.The fraud actually involved the DHB's former chief information officer Michael Swann and his friend and business associate Kerry Harford were found guilty in December last year of defrauding the board $16.9 million. The fraud happened over a period of six years. The reference to Bainimarama relates to his refusing to make a date for democratic elections in Fiji in spite of an ultimatum from the Pacific Forum. (NZ Herald 17 February 2009)

Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).