Times to take keys from commissioner -

My school classmate John Taiaroa was one of five young people who died in a horrific head-on smash on Christmas Eve in 1992, killed by drunk driver Bruce Ingpen.

John was just 19, a year out of school, a smart, gentle and generous young man with his life ahead of him. His sister Nikki died in the same accident.

I spoke this weekend to their father, Lindsay Taiaroa. ‘‘It doesn’t go away,’’ he said. ‘‘Christmas Eve is not any fun any more, and neither is Christmas Day. It’s hardest for my youngest daughter – she was only 13 at the time.’’

I remember, too, the other side: another schoolmate who decided he needed pizza late at night. He drove drunk through suburban Lower Hutt, crossing the centre line at speed. He killed a midwife coming the other way, as I recall, who was returning home after delivering a baby.

So many of us, so many of our families have been hurt by drinkdriving.

We no longer tolerate drinkdriving. The law no longer tolerates drink-driving. Our judges no longer tolerate drink-driving.

Consider the case we reveal today of real estate agent Ricky Cave, who tried to worm out of accountability for driving under the influence – he claimed he should be allowed to keep driving his Aston Martin to avoid damaging his ‘‘brand’’. Judge June Jelas, rightly, gave him short shrift.

It is a crying shame that our police hierarchy – whose officers are first on the scene at every drink-drive tragedy – is so willing to sweep a drink-drive conviction under the carpet.

The lengths Police Commissioner Mike Bush and his lackeys went to, to conceal his historic conviction for drinkdriving from public disclosure, are disappointing.

When our Stuff Circuit journalists Eugene Bingham and Paula Penfold were told a senior officer had an undisclosed drinkdrive conviction, police repeatedly ducked and dived. Even when we sought the information under the Official Information Act, they disclosed 24 prosecutions and cases of misconduct – but not that of the Commissioner.

Let us be clear, his crime 34 years ago was regrettable – ‘‘extremely poor judgement’’ by Bush’s own admission – but not in itself a reason for him to lose his career. For that, he would deserve a second chance.

What is unforgivable is his attempt, like the oh-so-charming Ricky Cave, to repeatedly worm out of responsibility for his actions, He sought to conceal them from the public and from the hardworking police officers who strive so hard to save lives on our roads.

This is a police force that, under Bush’s leadership, has developed a culture of obstruction, of lack of transparency.

It was only because of our journalists’ investigations that Inspector Bruce Horne and Commissioner Bush’s driving infringements became public. Only because of our investigations into police station closures that they became an issue in yesterday’s Mt Albert by-election, and will help define September’s general election.

Our hard-working constables and sergeants win the public’s trust with their 24/7 commitment to keeping Kiwis safe, from crime and from dangerous drivers. In the courts, police prosecutors demand that drink drivers be publicly held accountable.

With power comes a responsibility to act with transparency. Much of these officers’ good work is undone by Bush’s cowardly determination to protect his own career with reckless disregard to public trust in the police.

Is it time to take the keys from the Commissioner?