On 20 February - ten days before the police took decisive action to remove the occupation on Parliament grounds and the surrounding precinct - TVNZ's Q+A host, Jack Tame, interviewed Police Commissioner Andrew Coster. One of the first questions Jack Tame asked the Commissioner was whether he was being "too soft" on the occupiers. He repeatedly asked why the occupation had not been cleared.
A masterly summary. I have watched Coster's tactics with great interest. When you compare his approach to the approaches adopted overseas he definitely showed the most understanding of the situation he found himself faced with. I was particularly impressed that not only did he read the mood of the protestors correctly, he also read the mood of the country at large as well. He was completely correct in his original comment that the level of force he would have had to use at the start "...would have been unacceptable to most New Zealanders".
When he did finally send in the troops he remained very restrained and yet still managed to achieve his objectives. Again, I believe that he read the mood of the country correctly. By that time the protestors had proved themselves to be a rabble with no unified position and no clear objectives. They had become their own worst enemies! Everybody was fed up with them. His timing was impeccable.
I breathed a sigh of relief. Someone with intelligence and experience.
A masterly summary. I have watched Coster's tactics with great interest. When you compare his approach to the approaches adopted overseas he definitely showed the most understanding of the situation he found himself faced with. I was particularly impressed that not only did he read the mood of the protestors correctly, he also read the mood of the country at large as well. He was completely correct in his original comment that the level of force he would have had to use at the start "...would have been unacceptable to most New Zealanders".
When he did finally send in the troops he remained very restrained and yet still managed to achieve his objectives. Again, I believe that he read the mood of the country correctly. By that time the protestors had proved themselves to be a rabble with no unified position and no clear objectives. They had become their own worst enemies! Everybody was fed up with them. His timing was impeccable.
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-Alan