The board chair of Te Whatu Ora – Health NZ, Rob Campbell, has come below hearth after he apparently took to social media over the weekend to vent about National’s Three Waters coverage and the occasion’s chief Christopher Luxon.

As the chair of a Crown Entity, Campbell is topic to public service impartiality, which the statements seem to fall foul of.

Campbell was approached by way of Health NZ for remark, however the Herald didn’t obtain a response.

The National Party has weighed in with the occasion’s public service spokesman Simeon Brown saying it was “appalling”.

“We’re of the view that it is completely inappropriate for a senior public servant, the chair of our Health Agency, to be making these comments.

“These appear on the fact of it to be in breach of the clear rules on political impartiality for senior public servants.

“He should clearly be focused on his day job which is fixing our broken health system,” Brown mentioned.

A publish from Campbell’s LinkedIn account learn “Leaving the solution to the major issues we can all see to the very bodies that have failed to avert the issues can only evince a John McEnroe “you cannot be serious!” cry [SIC].”

“What on earth would make anyone think this was a sensible idea for debit raising alone, let alone the management alone, let alone the management and delivery of the tasks.

“Geographic and social inequities deepening while the infrastructure rots.

“I can only think this is a thin disguise for the dog whistle on “co-governance”.

“Christopher Luxon might be able to rescue his party from stupidity on climate change but rescuing this from a well he has dug himself might be harder,” he posted.

National was backed up by doubtless coalition accomplice Act, whose chief Act Act Leader David Seymour described the publish as a “rant”.

Seymour mentioned “Labour has politicised the public service by putting Campbell in charge of Health NZ and he needs to pull his head in or resign”.

Seymour went on to say the incident was the “tip of the iceberg” of eroding political neutrality.

“Much of the Wellington bureaucracy is openly sympathetic to the left and that is a real concern.

“A politically neutral public service that can carry out the policies of governments of all colours is critical,” he mentioned.

As a member of a ministerially appointed board, Campbell is sure by the code of conduct, however is in the end accountable to the minister, which in Campbell’s case is Health Minister Ayesha Verrall.

This is distinct from public service chief executives who’re accountable to the Public Service Commissioner, Peter Hughes.

The code of conduct for Crown Entity board members says they “act in a politically impartial manner”.

“Irrespective of our political interests, we conduct ourselves in a way that enables us to act effectively under current and future governments.

“We do not make political statements or engage in political activity in relation to the functions of the Crown entity. When acting in our private capacity, we avoid any political activity that could jeopardise our ability to perform our role or which could erode the public’s trust in the entity.

“We discuss with the Chair any proposal to make political comment or to undertake any significant political activity”.

It’s not the primary time Campbell has been below hearth.

Defending Te Whatu Ora’s closed-door board conferences in an interview with RNZ’s Guyon Espiner, he mentioned their operate was to not present “occupational therapy for journalists”.