Three weeks of ugly headlines and ACC's leadership crisis just got worse

Saturday, 15 March 2025

Stand-downs and investigations at ACC as chief executive Megan Main fends off criticism.

After three weeks of the kind of headlines no government agency wants, things just got even worse for ACC. And not much better for Health NZ, writes Paula Penfold.

Let’s step back to the end of February when Stuff reported that ACC deputy chief executive John Bennett was seconded to Health NZ in spite of a complaint of inappropriate physical contact and a shirtless video call incident.

Bennett formerly held senior roles at the UK’s National Health Service and at “Big Four” consultancy firms KPMG and PwC UK.

In 2012 he set up a company called MBI Health, alongside co-founder Barry Mulholland and another party.

At ACC his job was to take “a strategic view of New Zealand’s health and rehabilitation ecosystem”, but he was apparently needed at Health NZ to support “performance, strategy and delivery of key ministerial targets”.

John Bennett started as a deputy chief executive at ACC in 2024.

In loaning Bennett to Health NZ, ACC didn’t see fit to mention the physical contact with co-workers matter as it “had been addressed”.

Judging by comms from Health NZ, it did not go down well that the first they heard of the Bennett issue was when Stuff asked about it.

The interim chief executive, Dr Dale Bramley, “spoke to the Chief Executive of ACC immediately after receiving the query.”

Then came concerns of a different kind: potential conflicts of interest involving Bennett.

Prior to starting at ACC in September 2024, going back to at least 2022, Bennett had been advising Te Whatu Ora on matters such as improving waiting lists.

Stuff became aware that MBI Health and Mulholland were being awarded contracts at both agencies.

Bennett had resigned as a director of MBI Health in 2020, but remained in business with Mulholland in two other companies.

We asked both ACC and Health NZ about the contracts and whether they were aware of Bennett’s historic connection with MBI Health, his ongoing connection with Mulholland, and whether that was a potential conflict of interest.

A recent Linkedin post by Barry Mulholland.

ACC chief executive Megan Main answered that the agency has a “clear process in place for how it manages potential and perceived conflicts of interest involving our people”.

“We are confident these processes have been followed.”

Stuff has asked for records of Bennett’s declared conflicts of interest and how those were managed. The agency has dealt with the questions under the Official Information Act so a response is not due until next month.

In the meantime, a leaked copy of ACC’s organisational chart shows Mulholland as a contractor working on system commissioning and performance.

Health NZ said Bennett had advised “he has no conflicts of interest in relation to his secondment to Health NZ”.

“He is not involved in any Health NZ commercial bids or procurement and does not hold any financial or decision-making delegation in the role he has been seconded to.”

So we asked: Aside from asking him, is Health NZ itself satisfied Bennett did not have any conflict of interest? Was Health NZ aware that a company Bennett co-founded had been awarded a contract or contacts, and that Bennett remained a co-director with Mulholland in two other companies? What processes were followed? Was there a tender? Could we have the advertisement documents?

Almost a week later, the answers came back: and they were revealing.

“In 2023 Health New Zealand engaged the services of MBI Healthcare Technologies Ltd,” said interim chief human resources officer Fiona McCarthy, “to assist with the data validation of our patient waiting list and support other work to improve the delivery of care in our hospitals.”

And here’s where it got really interesting.

“The engagement of MBI was exempt from the open advertising requirements in our procurement processes as it was the only known provider with the essential skills and expertise necessary to deliver the specific services needed at that time.”

By the time the contract ended in December 2024, it had cost $2,006,073.

And on the conflict of interest management?

“Health NZ had engaged with Mr Bennett to ensure any real or perceived conflicts of interest were managed according to Health NZ policy.

“Mr Bennett also advised he left MBI five years ago and no longer had any interest with the company.”

The questions about Bennett’s ongoing business relationship with MBI Health’s Barry Mulholland went unanswered.

Local health consultants saw red: “[The] claim that MBI were the only company able to provide those services is complete rubbish,” said one. “There are a number of organisations who could have provided it, along with at least a dozen individuals.”

Health Minister Simeon Brown: “New Zealand taxpayers expect to have confidence in procurement policies”.

They weren’t the only ones incredulous: Health Minister Simeon Brown was reading too.

Brown and Health NZ interim chief Bramley both ordered a review of the process that led to the awarding of the $2m contract.

In an interview on Newstalk ZB on Friday, Brown said: “I’m not going to get into the particular personal issues that the Stuff journalists have been uncovering, but I would just point out that New Zealand taxpayers expect to have confidence in procurement policies, there are procurement policies for a reason: that is to ensure value for money for every taxpayer dollar spent.

“And that’s what I expect from Health NZ.”

Deputy chief executives allegedly behaving badly

ACC deputy chief executive, Māori, Rēnata Blair has been stood down and is under investigation after concerns were raised about “drunken and inappropriate behaviour”.

The news about the Health NZ review had only just broken when another email arrived, this time from ACC, in response to a fresh round of questions from Stuff about a different ACC deputy chief executive: Rēnata Blair.

Issues raised with us included allegations Blair had been involved in “drunken and inappropriate behaviour” at a work function on Waiheke Island, and further allegedly drunken and inappropriate behaviour at Te Matatini, about which Stuff understands a staff member raised a complaint regarding an unsafe work environment.

We asked whether Blair remained in his role.

The response when it came was short on words but long on implications: “An investigation is underway, and Rēnata Blair is not currently working”.

(Blair himself declined to comment, saying all questions should be directed to ACC.)

Then came a separate statement: “John Bennett will be stepping down from his role at ACC effective immediately.”

For the previous week, Bennett, too, had been stood down and was under investigation over the series of issues reported by Stuff, including that he told us that the complaint over physical contact with workmates was “vexatious”, and “it was just hugging”.

There are seven deputy chief executives at ACC: one has now gone and another has been stood down while an investigation is carried out.

‘Toxic culture’

At the end of last year, then-Minister Matt Doocey announced an independent review of ACC due to concerns about declining rehabilitation rates and increasing costs.

Since then, things have gone from bad to worse, with the money-pit botched ProviderHub IT project needing international help to be fixed.

The torrent of concerns being voiced from within the organisation to Stuff shows the issues are broader than financial, they’re cultural too. “Toxic”, is how one described it.

ACC chief executive Megan Main faces pressure over turmoil at the agency.

Others say the current issues are indicative of senior executives having “run ACC into the ground in every way”.

“Megan [Main] has lost control of her team. It’s ‘pack of wild dogs’ behaviour.

“ACC is in a feudal state now. Staff can’t focus on outcomes for New Zealand. Megan and her entire exec must go and ACC be placed in independent management immediately.”

Stuff asked Main whether, given the number and nature of issues at deputy chief executive level, and wider concerns about expenditure and procurement, she intends to continue as chief executive.

She does.

“ACC is at a critical juncture as we look to reverse long-term declining client rehabilitation performance in the face of rising costs,” she said in a statement.

“We have a significant amount of work underway to tackle these cost and performance challenges.

“I am committed to seeing this work through.”

ACC Minister Scott Simpson is staying the course too, although he has told the agency it needs to “step up”.

“I have made my expectation clear to them that they create a high-performance and positive culture at ACC and have robust HR processes in place.

“There is currently an independent review of ACC underway, which will provide recommendations on how to improve the organisation’s performance. My top priority is to reverse ACC’s declining rehabilitation performance, improve its financial position, and help injured New Zealanders get the support they need.

“I’ve made it clear to ACC that they need to step up and stay focused on delivering real outcomes for New Zealanders without any distractions.”

The chair of the ACC board, Dr Tracey Batten, said she has “complete confidence” in Main.

The saga has attracted the attention of the public financial watchdog, though.

Assistant Auditor-General Russell Bates told Stuff the Office is aware of the issues raised, including what’s happened at Health NZ, and is “treating this as an area of interest”.