Housing New Zealand’s chief executive Andrew McKenzie must be sacked

By
John Minto
-
54
167

This makes my blood boil. I’ve just read this in a Radio New Zealand story.

“Housing New Zealand’s chief executive Andrew McKenzie refused to be interviewed again today.

He has never given RNZ an interview on his agency’s meth testing policy and his communications manager said he never will.”

Pardon the language but who does this arrogant sod Andrew McKenzie think he is? He’s been the hatchet man for the National government and their bogus meth testing. He’s the man who led the charge to sell thousands of state houses. He’s the man now refusing to be accountable for the chaos he has created in the lives of thousands of state house tenants.

He is a public servant.

He should front up and be accountable or be sacked!

 

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54 COMMENTS

  1. It’s become evident over the past decade or so that uber-competitive, over-ambitious people don’t really make good public servants in my humble opinion. Career and personal prestige is apt to trump the concept of service to the humble public – the latter becomes secondary.

    They may be lauded as the perfect specimens in our corporatised KPI box ticking ISO900-accredited purchase-agreed public service, but 3 decades of it all has produced the problems we’re facing now, whether it be WINZ or HCNZ or MPI or MoBIE or Health or Education or where ever.
    The record is beginning to speak for itself surely.

    The sad thing is that (SO FAR) Labour appears to have signed up for another term – having the utmost faith in some of these “officials”.

    This is really where reform is needed or sure as shit there’ll be no transformation

  2. Agreed fully with you John;

    This national party stooge should have been removed by Labour coalition six months ago!!!!!

    So Labour wake up and rid these national party “sleeping dogs” from your agencies before they drag you down!!!!

    Then swiftly sack all the MPI ‘National party appointees’ still fucking up the country over their lack of action in 2015 when warned of an outbreak of micoplastoma bovis coming here; – as they are sabotaging you own Government now!!!!!!!

    John says; “who does this arrogant sod Andrew McKenzie think he is? He’s been the hatchet man for the National government”

  5. Andrew McKenzie is accountable to the Minister and the State Services Commission.

    He is a public servant but he doesn’t answer to the public.

    • Come to think of it this is VERY similar to the manner in which Paula Bennett responded to RNZ. Radio silence.

    • iam sure phil twyford is getting advice on sacking him or the incompetent will bolt before hes sacked remember these CEO types always resign before they get sacked.

    • Heaps for long services to National I’d bet KIM DANDY

      And the hush money was no doubt garnished from the public purse to boot.

      National = Corruption.

  8. He was appointed in June 2016 (see Housing NZ announcement) so was clearly a National Housing minister’s appointment, via a toady board.

    His appointment announcement lists his recent past ‘achievements’. I doubt a Labour Housing minister would have even had him on the short-list for the job!

  9. Housing NZ is a living example of how a state department that was originally set up to help people can, by neo-liberal manipulation, turn into a political ideological weapon designed to hurt people.
    It is another outfit run by National Party hacks that needs to be thoroughly disinfected.

  10. When housing minister Phil Twyford appears to not want to ” see anything, hear anything, know anything, “i would say the man doesn’t really have a lot to worry about

  11. Yes. The refusal to issue any sort of statement may be that he is out of his depth, in which case the State Services Commissioner needs to be taking a look at what’s going on at Housing NZ.

    Mr McKenzie’s communication manager’s blunt statement may have unhelpfully misconstrued his position, but it won’t be the end of the matter.

  12. Andrew McKenzie, (at time of job appointment) General Manager Finance, Fletcher Construction … that should have precluded his appointment at the outset.
    Let’s not dissect the failings of Andrew McKenzie… let’s get to know really well and intimately those who appointed him.
    Let’s dive down the dark and extremely dirty rabbit hole!

    • God awful National was pure evil lot, such that Labourt should start a royal commission investigation into the shifty appointments national made using corrupted excecutives here.

  14. I’m sure he would go if offered the right termination package……say a couple of million in cash and a position as a director or ‘advisor’ that will pull in $100,000 a year.

  15. Twyford should have him publicly crucified for his complicity and hubris. He obviously feels he doesn’t need to answer to the common rabble.

    • We agree WENSLEYDALE,

      Dirty policital appoinmenets now agaain eh, Labour need to clean the whole public services up right now.

      This is like Trumps mired in the ‘washington swamp’ all over again now we are mired in the “Wellington swamp.” just as toxic as Washington swamp is.

  16. Never mind blaming him the blame starts at the top and that is pull the benefits role. That national lot were bloody good at blaming their ministries when all the push and shove came directly from them. But as soon as something goes wrong its ‘it wasn’t us it was them’ they are very quick to throw their public servants under the bus.

    • Agree Michelle. Metaphorically speaking, of course, Paula Bennett appears little more than a big fat bully, and continues to behave – I think – like a pathetic parody of an upright human being, and Paula continues to get away with it.

      Anyone aware of Paula’s providing the hungry media with the personal details of two education-focused beneficiaries who criticised her would have to be querying what sort of woman she was.

      And if that didn’t do it, the attempt to harm the reputation of Hurimoana Dennis doing sterling work with the homeless should have.

      So Andrew McKenzie should have had a realistic idea of the nature of his political mistress when he took his current job, and if he’s uncomfortable now, tough.

      At the moment the only person likely to lose their job is Henry Cooke
      for reporting the truth of the dreadful matter on today’s Stuff.

  17. Its time that Mackenzie cleared out his desk and left HNZ. Any top CEO of a state body who believes himself unaccountable is not fit for his job.

    • … ‘ Any top CEO of a state body who believes himself unaccountable is not fit for his job ‘…

      Exactly.

      And for all we know he could be fiddling the books.

      Sack him.

  18. iam quite sure Phil Twyford will have him in his gun sights Paula Bennett needs to front up and explain nationals actions

  20. That man should not only be sacked, he should be tared and feathered and shamed while being hunted down Lambton Quay in Wellington.

    He is a prime example of what is wrong with out present day public ‘service’, lacking service attitudes, being replaced by entitlement thinking, especially at CEO and board member level.

    I wonder what other ministries and departments have relied on flawed ‘evidence’, MSD come to mind, with their Principal Health Advisor Dr Bratt, telling lies and getting protected by the CE of Work and Income and MSD, and by the government.

    https://nzsocialjusticeblog2013.wordpress.com/2015/08/09/msd-and-dr-david-bratt-present-misleading-evidence-claiming-worklessness-causes-poor-health/

    https://nzsocialjusticeblog2013.files.wordpress.com/2016/09/msd-dr-bratt-present-misleading-evidence-on-worklessness-and-health-publ-post-19-09-16.pdf
    (new current PDF with post, 19.09.16)

    https://nzsocialjusticeblog2013.wordpress.com/2016/08/16/senior-scientist-and-legal-experts-discredit-evidence-used-by-msd-and-dr-bratt-when-claiming-the-health-benefits-of-work/

    https://nzsocialjusticeblog2013.wordpress.com/2017/05/01/msd-releases-oia-info-on-dr-bratts-and-other-senior-health-advisors-high-salaries-nearly-4-years-late/
    (fr. 30.04.17 or 01.05.17)

    PDFs (01 May 17):
    https://nzsocialjusticeblog2013.files.wordpress.com/2017/05/msd-releases-oia-info-on-health-advisors-salaries-nearly-4-years-late-post-30-04-171.pdf

    I am not that surprised about what Gluckman told us, he now claims, he only has a small team of four work in an advisory role for the Office of the PM. Surely, he must have been confronted with the absolutely flawed ‘evidence’ they used to justify the hideous welfare reforms the Nats brought in!

    Remember Paula Bennett boasting in 2012:
    http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1209/S00417/hon-paula-bennett-speech-to-medical-professionals.htm

    “I will outline the changes we are making to the welfare system, the evidence behind these changes, and what this all means for the medical profession, especially GPs.”

    “However UK research tells us that many of these people have what should be manageable health problems.

    Research also says only one per cent of sickness absences associated with common health problems, result in long-term incapacity.

    Provided people are given proper advice and support, recovery is normally to be expected and long-term incapacity is not inevitable.”

    “There will no longer be a Sickness Benefit.

    People will transfer from Sickness Benefit to Jobseeker Support, along with others who are able to work full-time, and sole parents with children who are 14 years or older.

    This new benefit is for people who can work at least 15 hours a week, or perhaps need a short time to recover from illness or injury before returning to work.”

    “This was an important point made by the experts on the Health and Disability panel which I established to review our proposed welfare changes.

    It also echoes the UK’s assessment processes and the “Pathways to Work” initiative for vocational rehabilitation designed by Professor Sir Mansel Aylward.

    When I sat down with Sir Mansel earlier this year he told me that health conditions account for just 10 to 15 per cent of barriers to work for people on disability benefits.

    He said that many health conditions or disabilities can be well managed in work but addressing other barriers are just as important.”

    http://nzsocialjusticeblog2013.wordpress.com/2013/09/07/the-health-and-disability-panel-and-its-hand-picked-members/

    Bratt proved wrong:
    “Is the statement that if a person is off work for 70 days the chance of ever getting back to work is 35% justified?” NZMJ, 20 Nov. 2015:
    https://www.nzma.org.nz/journal/read-the-journal/all-issues/2010-2019/2015/vol-128-no-1425-20-november-2015/6729

    Some have been banging on about this for years, it seems, and NOBODY in the media bothered digging, investigating, no Prof. Gluckman or other person seems to have bothered checking on this BS ‘evidence’ that Paula Bennett boasted about when Minister for Social Security.

    Time to expose more, I reckon.

    • Thank you Marc. Incredibly disheartening reading; no wonder so many
      NZ’ers are topping themselves.

      This woman’s detached attitude towards sick, suffering, and vulnerable beneficiaries provides yet another parallel between the Key-English govt and the Third Reich.

      Don’t blamed the media if the Opposition weren’t thundering their outrage- especially when there was so much to be outraged about, time and time again.

      • But the opposition were, National wouldnt have gotten away with what they did if it weren’t for the complicit media.

  21. One other question needs answering also, and action now, it seems. Will this now unnecessary piece of legislation be reversed or withdrawn now???
    ‘Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill (No 2)’

    http://www.legislation.govt.nz/bill/government/2017/0258/latest/whole.html

    “Recommended amendments to Part 2 (contaminated properties)

    Part 2 contains amendments aimed at addressing methamphetamine contamination in rental properties.
    Replacing references to “methamphetamine” with “contaminant”

    In the opinion of some submitters, the bill’s focus on methamphetamine contamination is misguided. They said that contamination by other toxic substances, such as asbestos, fungal toxins, and lead paint, could also put people’s health at risk.

    We agree that limiting the bill’s coverage to just methamphetamine contamination would miss an opportunity to address contamination by other substances.

    We therefore recommend inserting a definition of ““contaminant”” into clause 25(1). This definition specifically refers to methamphetamine, but also includes any substance, or class of substance, prescribed as a contaminant for the purpose of the legislation. Including methamphetamine in the definition of ““contaminant”” would allow landlords to exercise a right of entry to test for methamphetamine once Part 1 of the Act came into force.

    We also recommend removing reference to the word ““methamphetamine”” in the bill and, where necessary, replacing it with the word ““contaminant””.”

    I note though, that some sensible changes have already been made.

  22. Oh my goodness…so much Government touches, whether it be the Red Team or the Blue, seems to turn to dust…and now this Red Team wants to sacrifice 190,000 cows to their god in the hope of achieving who knows bloody what based on evidence which may prove tomorrow to have been flawed.

  23. Pardon the language but who does this arrogant sod Andrew McKenzie think he is? He’s been the hatchet man for the National government and their bogus meth testing. He’s the man who led the charge to sell thousands of state houses. He’s the man now refusing to be accountable for the chaos he has created in the lives of thousands of state house tenants.

    He is a public servant.

    He should front up and be accountable or be sacked!

    ——————————–

    Sounds like an arsehole. And a negligent one causing widespread human suffering. Is there not laws in this country to prosecute such politically motivated individuals that cause such public harm? I’m sure a court of law would quickly induce him to ‘give an interview’ ….

    I wonder.

    • The further info out today on Radio NZ shows Housing NZ’s goings-on to be much worse than initially depicted.

      If I were Andrew McKenzie, I’d be refusing to speak too, just as he did after giving evidence about the evictions up at Parliament.

      There is of course, the chance that Paula told him to “Zip it Sweetie”, in her own inimitable way, but if, as they should, every politician and public servant who has been knowingly complicit in this dishonest and dishonorable regime has to answer to a court of law, it will be an even unholier mess if they start trying to wriggle their way out like bait-worms, and that includes Paula, and, surprise, surprise, Bill English, who apparently also knew and did nothing.

      Andrew McKenzie should not be allowed to resign, or be fired. As CE of Housing NZ it is his extremely well-paid job to answer for their damaging and costly ineptitude. Why let him off the hook ?

      We NZ taxpayers having been paying this man $46,000 per month, and for that sort of money, we deserve answers.

      Bigger tax-payer money still with other legal actions likely to be spawned from private landlords, insurance companies, maybe the Insurance Council – but not the poor because hey, poor people have to focus on more immediate things.

      They have been treated with contempt, just like the miners still entombed deep at Pike River, and the Afghani subsistence farmers terrorised by the NZDF and it is not an okay way to behave and nor should social welfare have been turned into social warfare.

  24. All they have to do is have a review of the service and disestablish his job. They don’t need a CEO at HNZ.

  26. But surely it’s not him but National’s ministers that are responsible? He carries out their orders. Getting him to take the rp for a minister’s ill-conceived policy is wrong. Unfortunately this scam wasn’t exposed when Paula Bennett was around to take the rap and resign. But that’s who is responsible; not the gnome behind her. Though Labour had better be giving him different instructions now.

  27. But surely it’s not him but National’s ministers that are responsible? He carries out their orders. Getting him to take the rp for a minister’s ill-conceived policy is wrong. Unfortunately this scam wasn’t exposed when Paula Bennett was around to take the rap and resign. But that’s who is responsible; not the gnome behind her. Though Labour had better be giving him different instructions now.

  28. Looks like it was exposed in Bennett’s time. Early in 2017 Andrew McK defended the evictions at Parliament and seems to have claimed that the Health Dept never told him that the meth guidelines were wrong. He’s reported as refusing to talk to the media then.

    Every govt dept in Wgtn knows that it has to implement the govt’s policy,and Ministers constantly claim that they rely on advice and information from their departments when formulating policy, and in this case quite a number of people appear to have known that HNZ and others were using incorrect measurements, and nothing appears to have been done to rectify this, which suggests flawed process, or other things.

    In Oct 2016 RNZ said the MOH repeatedly told HNZ that it was using the wrong guidelines. The Drug Foundation claimed it was doing so deliberately.

    When you get an elderly woman who looks about 100 being turfed out of her long term home because some friend or relative must have used P there at some stage, make of it what you will.

  29. Surely the Ministers need to have an understanding of their portfolios, some one needs to be accountable for this faulty information.

    It makes you wonder whether there is really an understanding of chemicals entering the food chain and the inter relationships with human diseases. Most decisions these days appear to revolve around corporate and political agendas ?

  30. Yes there is no justification for his refusal to front up, in fact its part of his job. By his refusal to be scrutinized, is he trying to protect Paula Bennett and the National party that are no longer in power? But why? seems absurd doesn’t it, but one wonders.

    Paula Bennett said there should be an apology and compensation, thats an admission she was wrong, her government was wrong, so when is Paula Bennett going to front up and apologise?

    • Simon Bridges has apologised this morning, which suggests that he is a better man than English. But then, many are.

      That English was the Min of Housing at the time, and was nonchalant about the faulty testing issue makes it a bit harder to now criticise McKenzie.

      That English knew all this historically and seems to have had a complete disconnect about what was being done to people’s lives, suggests that he is a callous little bastard – or that this was his Highland Clearances time.

      • Correct English reliving his ancestors memories of the Highland Clearances in Scotland.

      • Simon Bridges didn’t actually apologize to the HNZ tenants though, he apologized for getting wrong advice, which is also another lie. National ignored all the advice because it didn’t fit in with flogging off state housing.

  31. They need to do what Twyford said he would do on the campaign trail in Christchurch and has now backed away from. Make Housing NZ a proper government department!

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