Poor Poto

Claire Trevett writes:

As a result, life can be tough for Labour Police Ministers, which is precisely why the job usually goes to MPs who can at least talk a bit tough: Those who sit on the right-hand pews of Labour’s broad church – people like Dame Annette King, George Hawkins, and Stuart Nash.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was trying something different by giving it to Williams, who is not tough on crime and can’t put on a convincing show of it – and was chosen for those reasons.

We have a Police Minister who doesn’t believe we should be tough on crime, and that is why she was chosen!

Williams is also relatively inexperienced as a minister and that is showing – and is a liability in a portfolio which has rapidly become very political.

Labour’s liability is National’s asset.

Before that was her odd decision to refuse Mitchell’s request to meet with Police Commissioner Andrew Coster or any of the district commanders after he became police spokesman.

The only reason Williams could come up with for refusing it was that she believed police were “busy.” She may regret it and it was possibly counter-productive.

It is unprecedented to block the Opposition Spokesperson from meeting the Commissioner.