The Star: December 08, 2016

4 Thursday December 8 2016
follow us on facebook.com/riseupchristchurch
The Star
News
Concerns over
Civil Defence
response
•From page 1
People needed to know things
like whether traffic should use both
sides of the road when evacuating,
Mr Kristinsson said.
“We had incidents last time where
people were trying to get in to get
medicine or help older people out,
so while the idea was to have two
lanes going out, it didn’t work,” he
said.
He is now organising a group of
local volunteers to manage traffic if
there is another tsunami warning,
because he said he was not confident
Civil Defence would respond.
SURF New Brighton chairwoman
Lesley Fulton said she had also had
a lot of questions from residents,
but had not heard back from Civil
Defence. The tsunami sirens were
not activated until about two hours
after the 7.8 magnitude earthquake
struck.
Responding to messages from
residents after the evacuation,
Mayor Lianne Dalziel said there
would be a full review of the
response.
“Not only do we need to ensure
that tsunami sirens are deployed in
a timely fashion, we need coastal
communities to be aware of what
they should do after an earthquake.”
Speaking out may have cost job
• By Gabrielle Stuart
SPEAKING OUT against the
health system may have cost
another Canterbury District
Health Board member his job.
Chartered accountant Steve
Wakefield was one of three
CDHB board members appointed
by Health Minister
Jonathan Coleman in 2013, who
were told last week they would
be replaced.
Mr Wakefield has spoken
publicly about the troubled
relationship between the CDHB
and Ministry of Health, and
criticised the ministry’s funding
process.
But his removal came as a
shock to other health board
members, who said his financial
expertise had been invaluable
when dealing with their current
financial crisis, and he was still
needed.
He is a partner at Deloitte.
It comes after both former
health board chairman Bruce
Matheson and deputy Peter
Ballantyne were removed from
appointed positions in 2013.
The Canterbury Hospital
Medical Staff Association
believed that was because the
two had challenged the then
Minister of Health Tony Ryall
on local issues.
Association president Ruth
Spearing said it looked like the
same thing had happened to Mr
Wakefield, because he had stood
up to talk about local issues.
“It seems to be that if you
speak out you don’t get reappointed,”
she said.
Mr Wakefield told media in
October the relationship between
the CDHB and Ministry
of Health suffered because of
“branch office showing up head
office” syndrome, and that “pioneers
are always the ones with
the arrows in their backs.”
He has also spoken out about
the CHDB’s funding, saying
there had been a shortfall in
funding from the Ministry of
Health because of flaws in its
system.
He told The Star yesterday he
knew he was risking his seat on
the health board when he spoke
out.
“That’s is always a risk, but
I’ve felt it is my responsibility
as a board member to say what
the issues are and call a spade a
spade,” he said.
Dr Coleman refused to answer
questions from The Star yesterday
about whether Mr Wakefield’s
comments played a part in
the decision to remove him.
A spokeswoman for Dr
Coleman said he had “nothing
further to add,” and pointed The
Star back to the press release announcing
who the new members
were.
Former board members Edie
Moke and Susan Wallace also
lost their seats, but Ms Moke
was appointed instead to both
Murray
Cleverley
Steve
Wakefield
the West Coast and South Canterbury
DHBs, and Ms Wallace
had moved into a bigger role
with Ngāi Tahu.
They were replaced by outgoing
Ngāi Tahu kaiwhakahaere
Sir Mark Solomon, Ngāi Tahu
Property chairman Barry Bragg,
and Chambers PR director
Tracey Chambers.
Health board member Murray
Cleverley, who has always
supported Ministry of Health
decisions when asked by The
Star, was the only one of the four
reappointed.
He said he did not believe the
public comments were the reason
Mr Wakefield had not been
reappointed.
“I don’t think the Government
are that shallow I certainly have
felt they have respected my
opinion and I can speak fully
and frankly to the minister and
ministry,” he said.
Summer
Fun!
There are heaps of
activities and events
happening all over
the city this summer.
Find out what’s on at summertimes.co.nz
SUMMERTIMESCHCH
Proudly produced by