Rakesh Naidoo did give more notice than reported

The Post reports:

A review into Labour’s top cop candidate, Superintendent Rakesh Naidoo, has cleared him of any breach of policy or confidentiality.

The review’s findings were released a day after an Official Information Act response showed that Naidoo had informed his supervisor about his potential candidacy two weeks before it happened, earlier than had been suggested in comments made by the Police Commissioner Richard Chambers and Police Minister Mark Mitchell, who were furious when the candidacy was revealed.

The original reporting was that Police were only told 2 to 3 days before the announcement, but it is significant that he did tell his boss he was considering it a couple of weeks before that.

You certainly can argue he still didn’t meet the test of the earliest possible opportunity, but regardless two weeks is considerably different to two days.

“Police is satisfied that Superintendent Naidoo complied with Police policy regarding informing Police of his intention to stand as a candidate for the New Zealand Labour Party, although it would have been prudent for Police to have been advised of the discussions at an earlier stage to support Superintendent Naidoo to manage any potential or perceived conflicts of interest and maintain political neutrality,” Anderson said.

That seems like a fair conclusion.