When does tongue in cheek become stick in the eye?

I am quite keen on light-hearted banter and criticism of privilege and power of organizations that sometimes take themselves too seriously. I like to support the underdog in their battles with bureaucracy and as a person who has some experience of being in charge of large bureaucracies, I like to remind staff that they are there for those on the outside, not for themselves.

I don’t like personal attacks on people, particularly those who cannot answer and although I criticise silliness and pomposity of organizations I avoid personal attacks, the worst of which are those carried out either behind someone’s back or from a hidden position such as a nom de plume. This type of action is cowardly and indefensible.

There are times for nom de plumes where they protect a writer from a hierarchy that may be in a position to penalise the unidentified writer. This could occur if someone felt worried that criticising an organization like a planning authority might mean that the authority would turn down their application.

Last week a nasty cowardly letter from a writer under the nom de plume Jude was printed in the Age. The first bit of the letter picked on views I had aired in this column and that’s fine. The last bit was a series of completely untrue personal assertions about me which unfortunately I have to use this column to deny, just in case there is anyone out there who thinks that I did anything other than support the local health services during my term as Chair of Northland Health.

As Peter Dryburgh would attest, I had several minor surgical operations carried out on me by him in the Kaitaia Hospital during the period when the board spent some very scarce millions on updating the hospital. Did anyone think that a local board member would move against his local hospital?

With regard to Auckland Hospital, the new hospital which serves many in Northland was completed on time and on budget, the $100 million annual operating loss has all but disappeared with no services being reduced and in fact more work and productivity than before, and in a sector where this is not generally the case.

Presumably Jude finds fault in having the power restored to Auckland as occurred after my appointment to chair Vector out of that mess. Such letters demean both this paper and our local population for showing that we harbour such persons within.