WA Premier Colin Barnett’s plans to overhaul Healthway have hit a roadblock, after it was revealed one member of troubled health promotion agency Healthway’s board is yet to resign.
Ever since a damning report by the Public Sector Commission revealed Healthway staff and board members misused $220,000 worth of tickets and corporate box packages, Mr Barnett has made it clear the agency would be restructured.
However, his plans have been stonewalled by the continuing presence of AMA representative Gary Geelhoed on the board, the only member yet to resign.
Professor Geelhoed is a well-respected senior Health Department bureaucrat who has served as the WA Chief Medical Officer since 2012, putting the Government in a tough situation.
It cannot forcibly remove him from the position without sparking outrage, but while he remains the board’s sole serving member, the Premier is unable to touch the agency.
A spokeswoman for the Premier confirmed the functions of the health promotion agency had been stalled.
“The operations of Healthway are effectively on hold until all members of the board have resigned and an interim board can be appointed,” she said.
Professor Geelhoed has been overseas and out of contact since before the Healthway scandal broke.
However, AMA state president Michael Gannon told the ABC he was asked by Health Minister Kim Hames to withdraw Professor Geelhoed’s nomination immediately.
“We’ve been asked to withdraw our nomination, it’s now being asserted that the board can’t function with the AMA nominee continuing on the board,” he said.
“The truth is the opposite – if there’s not a quorum of members, they can’t distribute the funds they’ve promised.”
Dr Gannon said the AMA had a serious investment in Healthway, and would not walk away from the organisation unless the Government guaranteed it would not be brought under the control of the Health Department, as flagged by the Premier this week.
“We’ve been there from the start, we’ll not go anywhere unless we have guarantees from Government that the organisation will maintain its independence,” he said.
“We’ll fight them the entire way.
“This organisation has served the community of Western Australia extremely well, it has in a professional and independent fashion put funds out to take sport, the arts, other community organisations away from depending on sponsorship from big tobacco, and from the various aspects of the alcohol and fast food industries.
“We’ve a strong suspicion there’s been political interference — maybe even at the highest level — to try to discredit the organisation, and to bring it under government control.”