Campbell's last stand

As the drama over Rob Campbell's public sacking subsides, he has mixed views on the jobs he's left behind.

- SARAH CATHERALL

On the day we talk, Rob Campbell is in his studio near his Freemans Bay home, and not long back from the dentist. The day stretches ahead, filled with yet more media interviews about his outspoken posts on LinkedIn.

"I'm both liberated and disappointed I've gone," he reflects.

Sacked as chair of the boards of Te Whatu Ora - Health New Zealand and the Environmental Protection Authority, the 72-year-old is used to leaving fires burning when he has diverged from the norm or spoken out. It's what he has done for much of his working life, as far back as the late 1970s when he was a unionist and former prime minister Rob Muldoon lambasted him as "a communist".

Having so much time on his hands is a huge shift for a self-described workaholic who, when asked about his hobbies outside of work, shakes his head. In 2021, he gave up three roles chairing private companies worth hundreds of millions (casino operator SkyCity, tourism operator THL, and retirement village operator Summerset) to dedicate himself to the health job.

"When I was approached about the health role, I was told that they respected my governance and competence and business knowledge. My heart was always with people facing inequity and it coincided with those thoughts. [In the corporate sector], I had been thinking I wasn't sure that I wanted to finish my working time like this."

Since his sacking, he has spent his days "driving those who live with me nuts" as he responds to all the messages he has received with personal thank-you notes. Although it's clear that many of those who know Campbell believe he was, indeed, asking for trouble, there have been some who have been prepared to join him in battle, such as fellow rebel Sir Ian Taylor. Others have stuck to the usual Kiwi way of doing things, by offering their anonymous support.