A former Chief Nurse at the Ministry of Health ran up tens of thousands of dollars worth of travel and accommodation expenses in a 16-month period, twice that of other chief advisors.
In response to an Official Information Act request, the Ministry says Mark Jones' travel and accommodation expenses for 16 months to the end of the year totalled almost $40,000. It says the average for other chief advisors and directors was $18,000.
Mr Jones resigned before Christmas without explanation. The Ministry will only say it wishes him well and is grateful for his contribution, while all Mr Jones would say in an interview with the nursing journal Kai Tiaki recently was he wasn't forced to resign and left on positive terms.
The ministry defends Mr Jones' spending, saying he had to travel widely, but sources say the issue was at the heart of differences that led to his resignation.
