Ethnic communities back Labour candidate Rakesh Naidoo

1:38 pm today

Police Superintendent Rakesh Naidoo

Photo: Supplied

Two former race relations commissioners have joined almost two dozen social organisations working with migrants and refugees to publicly throw their weight behind police Superintendent Rakesh Naidoo.

The support comes after Police Commissioner Richard Chambers last week ordered a review into the period during which Naidoo was engaging with the Labour Party.

Naidoo was confirmed as a list-only candidate for Labour on 8 June, with his ranking in 13th place likely to secure him a seat in Parliament.

He is currently serving as an ethnic, iwi and communities relationships manager for police.

Chambers also noted disappointment with Naidoo for what he called his failure to give earlier notice of his intention to stand for Labour.

"Superintendent Naidoo has not contacted me directly on this and I am very disappointed that he did not inform me or his supervisor that he was in discussions about his candidacy at an earlier stage," Chambers said.

The commissioner said he had no previous cause for concern about Naidoo's impartiality in his work, and he had been a hard-working and valued staff member for many years.

Labour leader Chris Hipkins, meanwhile, called Naidoo "a man of the utmost integrity", claiming last week he had followed process by informing his manager.

"I think when you tell your boss, and your boss says, 'Okay, I'll pass that on to the commissioner', I think you can assume that that means that you've done your duty of making sure the commissioner's been informed," Hipkins told RNZ.

Hipkins went on to accuse the commissioner of not being a good employer by making statements about one of his own officers that had "no evidential base".

In the open letter published Friday, former race relations commissioners Gregory Fortuin and Dame Susan Devoy, among others, expressed "deep concern" on seeing "Rakesh's character questioned so publicly before any review has been completed".

"While we come from different communities, we are united in our experience of Rakesh as a person of integrity, professionalism, fairness and compassion," the letter said.

"We know Rakesh as a person of strong moral character and mana, who has consistently treated others with fairness, dignity and respect."

The letter was signed by 23 people, including former NZ Olympics trustee Dai Gilbertson, Tā Kim Workman, a justice advocate at Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa) and Dave Moskovitz from Wellington Abrahamic Council of Jews, Christians, and Muslims).

Aotearoa Resettled Community Coalition chief executive officer Abann K. A Yor, former Action Station director Marianne Elliott and Ethnic Research Aotearoa chair Tayo Agunlejika were also among signatories.

"We have known and worked with Rakesh Naidoo over many years through our shared commitment to human rights, race relations, community wellbeing and public service," the letter said.

"Many of us have worked alongside him in challenging situations and have witnessed first-hand his commitment to serving all New Zealanders and strengthening relationships across communities."

The signatories of the letter said they were making no comment on the outcome of the review itself.

"Instead, we believe in the principles of fairness, natural justice and due process. These principles require that allegations be examined and conclusions not be reached before a fair process has run its course.

"Rakesh has spent much of his professional life advocating for human rights, social cohesion and respectful engagement between communities.

"As someone who has fought for all New Zealanders to be given a fair go - regardless of their ethnicity, religion or gender - it is especially important that those same principles be extended to Rakesh."

Former race relations commissioner Joris de Bres also came out in support of Naidoo in a social media post on 9 June, claiming the superintendent "followed the rules for advising his employer before his selection for the Labour list was made public".

"There is no justification for police to investigate whether he shared confidential information with the Labour Party prior to his selection. He would not do that and they know it," de Bres wrote.

"He is a person of the highest ethical standards and has served the police and ethnic communities loyally and effectively for many years."