Health NZ told minister hiring controls were crucial to budget, expected to stay through 2025/26

OIA-released documents show then-Health Commissioner Lester Levy and interim chief executive Dr Dale Bramley told Health Minister Simeon Brown in March that strict recruitment controls — including regional deputy chief executive sign-off for frontline hiring — were crucial to delivering Health NZ's budget. They expected the controls to remain through 2025/26. The PSA, which obtained the documents, called the safety claims "pure fantasy."