Barry Soper: Wally Haumaha's past comes back to haunt him

COMMENT: Being in the public eye is never an easy place to be, particularly in a country the size of New Zealand, it's a village.

It seems that everyone knows something about everyone else. In this country's case it isn't six degrees of separation, where we are six or fewer steps away from being connected to each other, it's probably more like three.

There are many times we'd like many more steps to separate us from each other which surely must be the feeling going through the mind of Deputy Police Commissioner Wally Haumaha at the moment.

He was appointed by the Government as the second most important cop in the country in May but it's only now his comments and friendships are coming back to haunt him.

It's been said you are who you are by virtue of the company you keep. Haumaha's certainly kept some pretty dodgy company in the past. He was a friend and continued to be a friend with the cops who were accused of raping Louise Nicholas in 1984 and 20 years later a cop told an investigation that Haumaha described the allegations as a nonsense and that nothing really happened adding "we have to stick together".

They were acquitted of that rape but convicted of another one five years later.

It's the stick together comment that's really stuck in the craw of his critics though. They say it's a prime example of the police gang mentality, something the cops have been trying to break down since they got an appalling report card in 2007.

Dame Margaret Bazley said in her report police needed to be vigilant to stop officers using their positions of authority to obtain sexual favours describing the behaviour of some officers as "disgraceful".

So now the Beehive wants to know how Haumaha got the top cop job that Minister Stuart Nash signed off on.

They want to know the recruitment process the State Services Commission went through with Commissioner Mike Bush on the panel.

Winston Peters has left the job of setting up the process of finding out to his New Zealand First colleague and Internal Affairs Minister Tracey Martin, which is for some too close for comfort.

Haumaha in 2005 tried to become a candidate for the party while Martin was on its board.

Surely there were plenty of other more neutral ministers that could have put the process in place. And if the process is found to be flawed, what happens to Haumaha and why wasn't he stood aside while they get to the bottom of the matter?

Peters says they're not going to find anyone guilty of anything until they've got evidence of it. But what could Haumaha be guilty of? Mixing with the wrong company? Yes. Making silly comments about sticking together? Certainly.

At least while they sort all that out, they've got an inquiry to hide behind and this Government's been pretty good at that!