WAS IT POLITICAL? Of course it was political. Take away the intense struggle over the future direction of policing in New Zealand and the whole disreputable exercise mounted in defence of Jevon McSkimming becomes incomprehensible. Absent the urgent need to secure the succession of an ideological soulmate to Police Commissioner Andrew Coster, the safeguards put in place following the revelations of serious sexual misconduct by senior Police officers in the 1980s and 90s would doubtless have operated as intended. That they failed so comprehensively in relation to McSkimming should serve as a warning against the power of ideology to override professional standards.
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No group of human-beings is more dangerous than a group of idealists determined to ensure the survival of their ideals – even at the cost of ignoring or actively subverting everybody else’s.
For more than forty years, Chris has been writing about, talking about, and doing his best to bring about social and political change.