The police watchdog report and the response, assessed. Plus: the latest from the implosion in Te Pāti Māori, the asset-sale debate, and a Carbon Zero retreat.
A shocking report by the Independent Police Conduct Authority has revealed a litany of serious failings in the handling of complaints relating to the disgraced former deputy commissioner Jevon McSkimming. Not only were the messages from a former lover diverted from the appropriate channels by senior leaders including former police boss Andrew Coster, the woman involved was arrested and prosecuted for harmful digital communications.
With a new watchdog, an inspector-general of Police, to be created, and Coster “on leave” from his new role at the Social Investment Agency, the new commissioner and the police minister insist that these “atrocious” failures are attributable to a small group of senior leaders – “bad apples”, as Mark Mitchell put it – rather than something systemic or cultural. But almost 20 years after the damning Margaret Bazley report that followed the Louise Nicholas case, is that explanation good enough?
In this new episode of the Spinoff’s politics podcast Gone By Lunchtime, Annabelle Lee-Mather, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire attempt to digest the revelations and their impact.
Also on the podcast: Parliament has two newly independent MPs, following the Te Pāti Māori National Council expelling Mariameno Kapa-Kingi and Takuta Ferris “for breaches of Kawa (the Party’s constitution)”. As the implosion in the party deepens, a number of questions remain unanswered.
Christopher Luxon and Winston Peters are exchanging blows over asset sales – is this a fracture in the coalition, an exercise in nostalgia, or two bald men (apologies Mr Peters, this is very much a metaphor) fighting over a comb?
And changes to the Zero Carbon Act were announced with zero fanfare – what does it mean for New Zealand climate action and Paris commitments?
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