QC to look at bullying allegations
Haumaha inquiry will include claims, confirms Scholtens
Claims of bullying by Wally Haumaha will now be considered in the government inquiry into his promotion as the deputy police commissioner. Mary Scholtens, QC, has confirmed that the allegations, first reported by the Herald, fall into the scope of her review of the appointment process, which is due to be completed at the end of this month.
The inquiry will not look into Haumaha’s suitability for the role, rather whether all the relevant information was provided to, or gathered by, the State Services Commission panel which recommended Haumaha as one of two potential candidates for the senior job.
Acting Prime Minister Winston Peters announced the inquiry in June after the Herald revealed controversial comments made by Haumaha about the rape allegations against his friends by Louise Nicholas.
But National MP Chris Bishop wrote to State Services Commissioner Peter Hughes asking for a separate investigation into how the bullying allegations were handled after three women working on a joint project walked out of Police National Headquarters in Wellington in June 2016.
The policy analysts, two from the Justice Ministry, one from Corrections, were based at PNHQ working in the Maori, Pacific, Ethnic Services division run by Haumaha, a superintendent at the time.
Three different statements were issued by the Justice Ministry, Corrections and the police, so Bishop wrote to Hughes asking him to clear up the conflicting stories from the three government agencies.
Hughes then asked Scholtens if the bullying allegations formed part of her inquiry.
In a minute posted on the Internal Affairs website, the Queen’s Counsel confirmed she would consider the allegations and said the inquiry would be “grateful” for co-operation given the short time and public resource involved.
In light of Scholtens’ statement Hughes said he would postpone any decision to conduct his own investigation until after hers was complete.
The QC’s decision to include the bullying claims means two more deputy police commissioners will be called to give evidence.
Audrey Sonerson was the acting chief executive of the Justice Ministry and raised “issues around behaviour” with Deputy Commissioner Mike Clement, according to a Justice Ministry statement. However police said Clement approached Justice and Corrections after concerns were raised by a third party but he had been given no further information. One of the three women told the Herald the trio had raised the matter with their respective managers and had believed their managers would handle that. She said she was never told about the approach by Clement, or asked for a formal complaint. She is now speaking to police about laying a formal complaint.
Sonerson joined the police months later in October 2016, at a rank of deputy commissioner, although she is now on secondment at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Haumaha was promoted to assistant commissioner in June 2017 by Commissioner Mike Bush, who was also on the SSC panel which recommended him in May as one of two candidates for the vacant deputy job.
Within a month of his appointment, the Herald reported comments made by Haumaha in 2004 to detectives investigating historical rape claims against police officers.
Haumaha was close friends with Clint Rickards, Brad Shipton and Bob Schollum at the Rotorua police station in the 1980s and 1990s.
He remained friends with them after they left the station and telephoned Rickards — who was by then the Assistant Commissioner in charge of Auckland — shortly after Louise Nicholas publicly alleged in 2004 the trio raped her in group sex sessions.
Nicholas’ allegations triggered an extensive police investigation, Operation Austin, and a commission of inquiry into the culture of the police.