PHOTO: Leaked emails have sparked political outrage. Labour’s mental health spokeswoman, Ingrid Leary. Women Political Leaders.
Did Health NZ Plan to Axe Segar House Before Telling Anyone? Emails Say Yes
Leaked emails have sparked political outrage and community concern after they revealed Health NZ may have planned to shut down a critical Auckland mental health facility months before any public consultation began.
Rauaroha Segar House, a publicly funded intensive programme for people living with chronic mental health conditions, is now the focus of scrutiny—not just for the closure proposal, but for the way it’s being handled behind the scenes.
Emails Show Plans Were in Motion Before Consultation Began
Internal correspondence shows Health NZ formally notified the building’s owner on 16 December of its intent to vacate the Khyber Pass Road property by the end of January 2025. The original lease was due to expire on 31 December 2024, and no alternative location for the service was mentioned in any correspondence.
Just four days later, however, Health NZ reversed its position.
“It is wildly unusual for us to be this indecisive,” wrote northern region property manager Harshna Mistry on 20 December, apologising to the landlord for the “flip-flopping.”
In the same email, Mistry revealed the service “was not as prepared to vacate as we had hoped,” and requested to extend the lease through to June 2025. That extension has since been pushed out again—now through to 30 September.
“They Were Always Going to Shut It Down” – Labour MP
Labour’s mental health spokesperson Ingrid Leary, who obtained the emails, says they paint a troubling picture.
“It’s very clear from the official documents that the plan was to shut down Segar House before the end of last year or at the latest by January. There was no genuine openness to keeping the service running.”
Leary says cost-cutting was clearly part of the motivation, despite Health NZ denying this. She also questions whether staff and patients were being treated in good faith when the consultation only began in April.
💡 What is Segar House?
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Publicly funded intensive mental health service
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Combines group and individual therapy
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Supports people with complex, long-term mental health needs
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Located in a building on Auckland’s Khyber Pass Road
Health NZ Pushes Back: “No Final Decisions Were Made”
Health NZ denies any premature moves to close the facility. Te Toka Tumai Auckland’s Director of Operations, Michael Shepherd, insists no closure decision was made before this year.
“We were considering how best to deliver mental health services but had not committed to a change process. Lease renewal wasn’t a factor.”
He says the lease was extended to allow more time for consultation and service review, and that other facilities were assessed in case relocation was needed.
But RNZ has seen documents confirming staff weren’t told about the closure proposal until early April—long after plans to vacate the building were already underway.
Budget Cuts, Confusion, and a Communication Meltdown
The leaked emails also reveal a chaotic picture inside Health NZ. In one exchange, Mistry warns that legal costs of extending the lease would likely be unaffordable, and that Te Whatu Ora was “in a significant period of flux.”
“The appetite to absorb the necessary legal costs… is not something the organisation has funding for at this time,” she wrote, just days before requesting the lease be extended after all.
By March, Health NZ officials were again discussing lease extensions—despite the facility costing $165,000 a year in rent and utilities.
And now, the building is being sold. Health NZ was informed on 18 June, the same day a prospective buyer toured the property. Staff were notified the next morning.
🧠 What’s at Stake?
Supporters of Segar House—including mental health professionals, patients, and advocates—say the service is irreplaceable. They argue it provides long-term, relationship-based care not available in other mental health settings.
Leary says the emails reveal more than just miscommunication—they show the devastating human impact of budget-driven decisions.
“This isn’t just a property shuffle—it’s people’s lives and wellbeing on the line.”
🚨 KEY TAKEAWAYS:
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Health NZ notified landlord of plan to vacate in December—months before consultation
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Lease flip-flop raises questions about transparency and intent
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Labour MP Ingrid Leary says closure appeared pre-planned and cost-driven
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Staff were officially informed only in April, long after internal plans had begun
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Health NZ denies early closure plans, calling situation part of service review
As Segar House staff and patients fight to keep the service alive, the leaked emails raise an uncomfortable question:
Was the consultation process genuine, or just a box-ticking exercise after the decision was already made?
SOURCE: 1NEWS