These are unprecedented times in the New Zealand Justice system. Right when there are steady falls in the crime rate with crimes of violence falling, when police are resourced enough to be investigating burglaries and other crime while at the same time promoting a 'rescue and save' mission on South Auckland youth that the country will reap the long term benefits from for years to come, we have the struggling Minister of Justice Judith Collins, locked in a time warp.
Being Judith can't be an easy job. Yet being Judith and at the same time the Minister of Justice appears to be an impossibility. The whole country knows that there are several high profile convictions that are flawed and won't go away. I suggest they represent not a series of individual problems but a accumulation of problems into one mass and how the country is dealing with them is left in the hands of a myopic practitioner whose political aspirations cloud her every move.
The subject of the ability of the current Minister of Justice being able to deal with even a single case from the number of examples of current Miscarriages of Justice is exhaustive, not least because the Minister has made it so. However, a place to start is to look at whether this Minister has the tools and intellect to manoeuvre the issues safely forward in a robust, and fair way, capable of satisfying the majority of New Zealanders. We have two glaring examples that indicate she can't, that she has floundered at the first hurdle.
That hurdle would have to be the Bain case in which she has invested deeply in denying Justice and Due Process to David Bain. A denial to the extent she has been exposed as manipulating behind the scenes against David Bain and the international jurist Ian Binnie. She has effectively been 'taken' to Court for operating an 'independent' 'parallel' version of Executive Power taken from the middle ages, as though she has the independent 'powers' of ruler pre the signing of the Magna Carta. That's a lot on this Minister's plate without a single thought, it appears, by either the Minister herself (for she in the first instance is the most responsible) or her caucus colleagues, that at least while the inquiry into her conduct is resolved in the Auckland High Court that she should not be continuing to administer the role which extends to other cases also, as yet, unresolved.
One of those cases is that of Scott Watson and whom the Minister 'dismissed' an application for exercise of the 'Royal Prerogative of Mercy' (how grand that all sounds if you're not Scott or the 1000s of New Zealanders concerned about the case.) The application was 'reviewed' by an old Government favourite, Ms McDonald, who it appears is a favoured 'gun for hire' to such an extent her involvement in the review had been greeted with cynicism even before the lengthy exercise was completed and her hefty cheque banked to the satisfaction of this Minister.
This, added to the revelations of the plot against Justice Binnie, many would think make a mockery of the title of the word Justice. No less so because of who the Minister has counted among those in her 'inner court,' her 'confidantes,' 'advisors' and those tasked to spread propaganda and stitch together 'legal' arguments for the already bewildered. We see among their number the highly paid and 'reliable to the cause Ms McDonald,' 2 'fallen' ex Judges, a reporter with a history of persecuting the wrongly convicted and a blubbery want to be 'go to hard man' and his sobbing counterpart who make up just two of his personalities. The Court of an informed and liberal thinking progressive Minister? or simply tried and 'true' deadbeats?
An invigorated Minister new to the job may have well accepted the challenge of 'aged' cases of injustice with an enthusiasm to package a novel, expedient and fiscally responsible reply to the task before her. But here we have a Minister stuck for ideas apart from bludgeoning and bullying while paying out her hired help to paint over the cracks and fool some of the people, some of the time.
The very same Judith who told the public that their children couldn't be fully protected from on line bullying, and encouragement to self-harm or suicide, until she implemented a new law, which she described as 'world leading.' Yes, indeed, but not as world leading as The Harassment Act already enshrined in legislation. Being Judith must be very difficult some days.
Showing posts with label Judith Collins. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Judith Collins. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Halatau Naitoko - Crusher Collins gets it wrong.
The Coroner's report into the death of 17 year old courier driver at the hands of a Police Armed Offenders Squad Member was released yesterday by Coroner Gordon Matenga. Matenga ruled that the killing was accidental but however drew attention to the fractured leadership control of the operation, the failure of 2 officers to establish a clear line of fire before shooting and what could probably be called inherent failure in systems of restraint, calmness and cool thinking by AOS members. Anybody watching footage of the aftermath would have seen many members of the police on the motorway that day speaking on phones at the same time - a clear indication that there was not one system of control, and that several different policing groups were being controlled independently of one another. That is a notable logistic failure.
A consequence of that failure is that it likely led to a competitiveness of sorts and stress between the conflicting groups of police and their controllers. There is no place in dangerous situations for multiple control and one would assume that priority of command directives were standing orders, but apparently we see here they are not. There should have been no competition or uncertainty that from the moment AOS were involved they were in control and all other policing units were in support, immediately that would have defused misconceptions of what role all police involved were to play. Instead it seems it was an 'all go' situation attended by the inevitable disorganisation that goes with people unaware of where the lines are drawn.
Many police commentators have spoken about the obvious difficulties of dealing with a mobile offender, agreed, and more the reason that those in control should have recognised those difficulties as this tragedy unfolded and made clear orders that the AOS led the situation and other policing units were in a supporting and containing role. What is most disconcerting is that the basics of 'clear lines of fire' were not appreciated by members of the AOS, in fact one had 'no recollection' of firing the fatal shot.
Assistant Commissioner Allan Boreham issued a statement that police 'deeply and sincerely regret' the accidental shooting and that 'it was right for that police power to use firearms be publicly scrutinised.' Fairly hard to disagree with the good sense of those comments, or with the findings of Coroner Matenga. Of course Police Association president Greg O'Conner was at odds with that, as he seems to be with rank and file police in these changing times. But the Ministers comments were the most odd of all, she claimed that the blame laid with the escaping offender and no doubt she doesn't have the courage or comprehension to follow what Boreham and Matenga in particular have said. The Minister wants the public to believe that a poorly organised pursuit under multiple, un synchronised control, which included personnel that were bereft of basic firearm safety usage, did not lead to the death of Halatau, that his death was solely the result of an armed, drugged up offender and unfortunate members of the public taken by surprise going about their lawful business finding them self in 'the line of fire' not sacrosanct to all members of AOS.
The Naitoko family have already filed a civil claim for damages and the Coroner's report strengthens that. Allan Boreham has made the frank acknowledgement of what the public expectation is when police use firearms, Gordon Matenga has reproduced the footprints, disordered by lack of control, that were part of this tragedy. Minister Judith Collins has shown she can duck walk. I hope the Naitoko family can settle quickly with the Government over this, there is every legitimate reason why they should despite the Minister being so out of touch that she cannot appreciate that poor organisation and practices by the police in some very difficult situations are not simply the fault of an offender.
A consequence of that failure is that it likely led to a competitiveness of sorts and stress between the conflicting groups of police and their controllers. There is no place in dangerous situations for multiple control and one would assume that priority of command directives were standing orders, but apparently we see here they are not. There should have been no competition or uncertainty that from the moment AOS were involved they were in control and all other policing units were in support, immediately that would have defused misconceptions of what role all police involved were to play. Instead it seems it was an 'all go' situation attended by the inevitable disorganisation that goes with people unaware of where the lines are drawn.
Many police commentators have spoken about the obvious difficulties of dealing with a mobile offender, agreed, and more the reason that those in control should have recognised those difficulties as this tragedy unfolded and made clear orders that the AOS led the situation and other policing units were in a supporting and containing role. What is most disconcerting is that the basics of 'clear lines of fire' were not appreciated by members of the AOS, in fact one had 'no recollection' of firing the fatal shot.
Assistant Commissioner Allan Boreham issued a statement that police 'deeply and sincerely regret' the accidental shooting and that 'it was right for that police power to use firearms be publicly scrutinised.' Fairly hard to disagree with the good sense of those comments, or with the findings of Coroner Matenga. Of course Police Association president Greg O'Conner was at odds with that, as he seems to be with rank and file police in these changing times. But the Ministers comments were the most odd of all, she claimed that the blame laid with the escaping offender and no doubt she doesn't have the courage or comprehension to follow what Boreham and Matenga in particular have said. The Minister wants the public to believe that a poorly organised pursuit under multiple, un synchronised control, which included personnel that were bereft of basic firearm safety usage, did not lead to the death of Halatau, that his death was solely the result of an armed, drugged up offender and unfortunate members of the public taken by surprise going about their lawful business finding them self in 'the line of fire' not sacrosanct to all members of AOS.
The Naitoko family have already filed a civil claim for damages and the Coroner's report strengthens that. Allan Boreham has made the frank acknowledgement of what the public expectation is when police use firearms, Gordon Matenga has reproduced the footprints, disordered by lack of control, that were part of this tragedy. Minister Judith Collins has shown she can duck walk. I hope the Naitoko family can settle quickly with the Government over this, there is every legitimate reason why they should despite the Minister being so out of touch that she cannot appreciate that poor organisation and practices by the police in some very difficult situations are not simply the fault of an offender.
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