Gold Coast cop's haka inquiry 'racist'

Rangi Joseph takes part in a flash mob haka in Surfers Paradise. Photo / Supplied

A former police officer believes the investigation into the Kiwi cop who took part in a Rugby World Cup-inspired flash mob haka while on duty in Australia was racially motivated.

Gold Coast Senior Constable Rangi Joseph, 38, joined the traditional Maori war dance at a Surfer's Paradise mall on September 11.

Queensland police this week confirmed an investigation was ongoing but said he was not in the gun for joining in.

"The Queensland police service has no difficulty whatsoever with Senior Constable Joseph's involvement in the haka, which is a sound example of community engagement ... the concern that the service has surrounds the issue that the officer involved was rostered to perform his duty in another area other than the one where the haka was performed," police said.

But workplace investigator Jo Kamira, who also claims to be the first Maori policewoman in Australia, said that from her experience, racial motivation was likely.

"Can you imagine a Maori police officer standing there while the flash mob does the haka around you on the Gold Coast? I can hear them say 'Come on bro join in'. If he hadn't have done what he did that would have taken the relationship back two or three steps."

As former head of the equity and diversity team, Kamira claimed Australian police would recruit New Zealanders for their diversity but not accept their culture.

"They say we want you because you're brown, but once you're in you're not allowed to be brown any more, which is why this has got me so wild. This is the stuff that we were trying to combat back in the early 90s," Kamira said.

However, Joseph didn't think the review was racially motivated.

"I don't think it's a definite racism towards anyone, it's more mis-education."