Dames and knights rally round Haumaha

Several dames and knights have rallied behind Deputy Police Commissioner Willy Haumaha following the announcement of an inquiry into his suitability for the top role.

Dame Nadia Glavish, Dame Iritana Ta¯whiwhirangi, Sir Toby Curtis and Sir Taiha¯ kurei Durie have publicly backed Haumaha and highlighted his various successes during their interactions with him.

The inquiry has been undertaken by the State Services Commission into Haumaha’s appointment and will look at what information was held about him before he was given the role. Haumaha worked with the former police officers that Louise Nicholas accused of raping her. He supported them after the scandal broke but has since apologised for his remarks.

New Zealand Ma¯ ori Council chair Sir Taiha¯kurei Durie said he knew Haumaha personally.

“Even accepting that a higher standard of personal integrity is required of police, I believe that he has led such a cultural change in the police, in the protection of the most vulnerable in our community, that the more appropriate outcome for him now would be a public endorsement of the extent of his change, and of the need for changes of that kind to be made generally throughout our communities.”

Dame Iritana, a life member of the Maori Women’s Welfare League, also backed Haumaha, saying he was a person of “infinite integrity”.

President of the New Zealand Federation of Multicultural Councils Pancha Narayanan had known Haumaha since 2004 and said the council wanted to acknowledge his valuable contribution. “This includes leading the ethnic strategy in NZ Police. The MNZ executive team and I worked closely with Mr Haumaha and his team on this initiative. This commitment to diversity, fairness and inclusion won NZ Police an IPANZ award.”