6 Oct 2024

Health NZ deputy commissioners being paid $200k a year in fees

6:46 am on 6 October 2024
Composite of an empty hospital bed, the Beehive and a gold coin.

Photo: Unsplash / RNZ

The three deputy commissioners trying to rescue the public health system are together being paid $650,000 a year in fees.

Roger Jarrold and Ken Whelan were appointed to Te Whatu Ora in August, and Kylie Clegg in September.

An Official Information Act response shows Jarrold's fee is $250,000, while the other two get $200,000.

Commissioner Lester Levy is paid $320,000. Stuff revealed he also had a part-time academic job.

The agency said Levy's fee, agreed by Cabinet, reflected "the unique and significant demands of this governance role".

It set the fees in consultation with the Ministry of Health.

It also has a chief executive and four new regional deputy chief executives, after scrapping several other senior jobs.

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