Comrades.
I (as the Editor of The Daily Blog) and our resident Blogger, Tim Selwyn have ruffled many feathers with our commentary on the killing of Tom Philips.
Please be assured that this Blog doesn’t give a fuck about your ruffled feathers.
We have obligations as citizens of a liberal progressive democracy to constantly challenge Police authority, tactics and behaviour.
It is our constant vigilance and challenging of police power that ensures a democracy never becomes a Police State and that is an obligation this Blog has, and always will take seriously.
Some will argue that my attitude is shaped by the NZ Police falsely accusing me of being Rawshark (the hacker that led to the Dirty Politics scandal) and destroying my credit rating in the process.
To which I say, ‘sure’.
I have had a long relationship with the NZ Police going back to my Craccum days at Uni…
Our Free Speech issue where I printed a ‘How to shoplift’ guide, ‘How to declare bankruptcy and escape your student loan’ (Parliament actually ended up passing a law specifically stopping this because of our article) and a ‘How to build a nuclear bomb’. This last story saw me dragged into the Auckland Police Station with an AUSA lawyer for an official interview where they attempted to charge me for terrosim because I had published how to make a nuclear bomb. I explained I got the recipe from a 5th form science text book, so if they wanted to arrest me, they were going to have to arrest every 5th former in the country.
I was far more prepared to push the limits even further in my second term. The protest movement against user pays was growing and the tactics were becoming more pushy and shovey with the Police. We printed all the badge numbers of cops who were bashing students during protests, and the cops we busted turned up at my house the next morning with search warrants to intimidate me into not publishing their badge numbers again. Immediately after they had searched my house and threatened me, I rang the mainstream media and told them what they had done. The mainstream media published the story of the Police harassing me at home, and they didn’t pull that trick again. Fuck the Police.
…and my TV series in 2002 that embarrassed the NZ Police Force…
Cops in gun over child sex workers
…I have co-operated when I believed the issue was just, such as in 2008 when the list of prisoner release details were leaked by a disgruntled Corrections staff member and led to the Police staging a never before seen raid on a Newspaper to halt the NZ Herald publishing the information based on the evidence I provided to the Police…
…in this case I supported the argument made by Phil Goff (who was Minister of Justice at the time) that if this information was published it would destroy any rehabilitation chances for the prisoners.
Despite the Police using my evidence as the grounds for the search warrant against NZ Herald, they then turned on me to smear me falsely as Rawshark and breach my civil liberties with wrongful search…
…which I took them to the Human Rights Tribunal and won…
‘Bomber’ Bradbury gets apology from police after exploit used to access bank records
…so.
I have witnessed first hand the lies of the Police, their abuse of power and how frail the supposed guardrails against abuse of power by the Police truly are, but my personal experience of the Police and my contempt for them aside, the facts speak for themselves when it comes to NZ Police killing New Zealanders and getting away with it!
Our Police are really, really, really good at harassing young Māori, chasing young people to death in police chases and getting away with shooting other New Zealanders.
NZ Police fatally shoot Kiwis at 11 times the rate of Officers in England and Wales and few are ever held accountable for those killings,
Look at the shootings from a 2022 article into the insane rates of shootings by NZ Police, look at how many shots the cops fired and look at how all of them were considered justified…
…hilariously 10 of them were shoot in the back by the cops.
Most Kiwis have no idea of those stats, that’s how powerful the culture of authority worship is in NZ.
Here were my predictions of what happens next after the cops gunned Tom down like a dog in the street in front of his own daughter, let’s look at them and compare with what actually happened.
Here is what will happen next.
There will be a whitewash report.
All the Police involved with shooting Tom will be awarded medals for bravery.
There will never ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever 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…ok, and how did those predictions pan out?
Tom Phillips update: Mother does not know when she will get to see her children
…wait, what?
After 4 years?
Mum can’t see the kids, because of very ‘complex issues’ to do with the Family Court which we can’t know anything about?
Oh and look at that, right on cue, news that Julie Christie is already making the Police whitewash ‘documentary’ to ensure the cop narrative is the only one…
…Julie fucking Christie of all people.
Jesus wept.
Look, this was always about the Family Court, the police MUST demonise Tom to ensure no other Kiwi Bloke Father faced with the same situation will copycat him.
It’s obvious now that what happened was an ambush by the Police that has resulted in his killing.
The spikes were set, the cops were lying in wait, he hit the spikes, they enclosed on him, he shot at the first car and the second car has responded with an immense volley of shots.
We don’t even know how many bullets were fired at this stage, and I believe we are being kept in the dark about that number because it won’t seem reasonable.
I don’t trust the cops to do anything other than cover their arses, lash out at anyone who criticises their tactics and punish anyone who was helping Tom.
Also, isn’t it a tad bleak that the Police intend to make this a revenge prosecution against any locals who helped him?
The Police commissioner has stated as fact that because one of his Police officers in the ambush was injured that means they will hunt down anyone who helped Tom Phillips.
So this is a revenge case now?
Don’t get me wrong, I am no supporter of Tom Philips, I think what he did and what he put his kids and wider whanau through is deplorable but I’m even less of a fan of the cops and their culture of shooting Kiwis and getting away with it.
Comrades – I’ve got beef with the cops going back decades, but our obligation as Citizens of a liberal progressive democracy is that we always challenge Police power, not because we hate cops, but because we love our democracy.
Increasingly having independent opinion in a mainstream media environment which mostly echo one another has become more important than ever, so if you value having an independent voice – please donate here.
Why would anyone in their right mind, give some ghoulish documentary maker ‘exclusive access behind police cordons’ to gather footage for any reason. Whoever gave this permission needs to step down and be held to account.
The children’s mother has not seen her children and yet these creeps have permission to film sensitive areas now. So much for Chamber’s assertions that everything was being handled extremely carefully and in the best interests of the victims.
Have never been a fan of Julie Christie and her trashy work and this is ample vindication for my opinion.
I fully agree with you for once Joy.
Joy. Yep. I don’t know who Christie is, but shame on her, and shame on whoever thinks her filming such an awful human tragedy is ok, and that includes Minister Mark Mitchell.
Follow the money. She’s more likely to be looking for big marketing bucks IMO, than being altruistic towards the police. Would she follow them removing gang patches at a tangi, or helping removing bits of bodies after a motorway pile-up ? Meghan Markle cashes in on children tragedies too.
What is Dame Christie doing embedded with the cops? What is the injunction hearing today on behalf of “the Phillips” by Lawyer Linda Clarke all about?
A lot more to come on this case given that even $80 grand could not get anyone out of the woodwork.
It is shockingly mendacious of the police to even consider that this case is fodder for reality tv. Who the fuck thought this was a good idea. Sickening.
Have a look at the overseas media ,have a look at the crime channels guaranteed it will be on you tube in 6 months by an overseas presenter .Do you want an Aotearoa form of truth or an overseas conjecture. Also it is guaranteed people will make plenty of money out of this maybe that’s why they’re up in arms because their 4 year golden goose has been cooked. This story is tabloid gold and it will ( has) taken on a life of its own and you wait until the leaks begin to appear . Just remember only one person did this and he took his children along for the armed ride end of story .
Thanks again Martyn. To even be considering a doco at this stage is vulgar and inappropriate! If one is ever to be done, it needs to be years ahead, when these children have healed, and investigated with total honesty – would that be the case now? Look hard and read between the lines. The very fact that the Phillips’ children are not “hankering” to see their Mother, should be raising a big red flag. So how about an investigation into the ‘real reason’ Tom found it necessary to hide his children. And NZ Police show some class not ass. Give a blanket “no prosecution” to the helpers who kept him and his children alive over the past four years. Had I lived in that area I too would have dropped off boxes of food etc. – it’s the humane way to act. FGS no more vengeance, no more witch hunts, cut the spite. No one goes to the lengths Tom went to, to protect his children without a really good reason – do you honestly think he/they enjoyed living like they did? Think about it! https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360817033/five-biggest-mysteries-after-tom-phillips-childrens-recovery
Patrize Garden. Vulgar ? Hey, PM Luxon is pretty vulgar, that’s how it goes now. In appropriate?
Absolutely. The children may be horrendously scarred forever, and the ghouls circling the wagon should back off and mind their own business. The sight of Christie and camera truly sickened me. The police have some explaining to do here, but they never explained the bashings at Albert Park…
You think about it. And stop casting aspersions on the mother, all kids were under the age of ten when they were abducted into the bush and not doubt suffering extreme Stockholm syndrome under the influence of a controlling and crazy father for four formative years. Take note of the military formation in that photo with the father way out in front of the line and all kids laden down with heavy packs. Tom’s reasons for fucking off into the bush that ultimately made him an outlaw can in no way be considered sane. Why wasn’t he apprehended after the first time? That was already a super dangerous crazy thing that he did, and if he had been Māori and not a rich white farmerboy he would have been in custody for pulling such a stunt. Poor kids and poor Cat, the mother, who is Māori and is being treated appalling and slandered even worse because of the decision of the family court, which clearly was the right one.
Not just Christie doing the white washing.
Claire Trevett beavering away in her newly created role controlling the police narrative. Almost like she was appointed for this very scenario.
https://www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/360669906/top-cops-latest-hire-heralds-new-era-police-media-relations
But Patrize how do we know the kids are not hankering to see their mother and is it possible the father turned them against their mother. And whether we like it or not she is still their mother and people make mistake but can change. As for our Police they have got worse under the new government they have a mercenary as a leader and they are more confrontational, in your face and been given a license to hunt, discretion is not being used. I wouldn’t leave my dog with Oranga Tamariki and the state are very controlling.
Exactly.
But Patrize how do we know the kids are not hankering to see their mother and is it possible the father turned them against their mother. And whether we like it or not she is still their mother and people make mistake but can change. As for our Police they have got worse under the new government they have a mercenary as a leader and they are more confrontational, in your face and been given a license to hunt, discretion is not being used. I wouldn’t leave my dog with Oranga Tamariki and the state are very controlling. And since when is it the Police role to be involved in a documentary and so insensitive Phillips is not in the ground yet
We are way beyond the need of a Royal Commission of Inquiry into our police here in NZ. Corruption, the links to gangs would be a start. But the handling of this case and other police shootings, also need to be looked into. What I find as a sad indictment on police, is that “cover your ass”, is always the first option. There is something deeply wrong within the culture. We need to be adults, take a deep breath, and let some KC’s take a long hard in-depth look at police and their actions over the last 40 odd years.
Just what New Zealand needs right now as inequality accelerates ; a police propaganda movie.
Of course they were going to ambush and capture him. It had to happen eventually
I make no judgement over the killing until we know who shot first. However, even when the various inquiries are completed, unless there is positive proof by way of video footage, this question will divide opinion.
Comrade, your beef with the cops is entirely justified and this is a very interesting read about your experience with them. Police killings are shocking in this country as you clearly spell out. They are clearly not trained how to deal with mentally ill people and they behave like idiots and ruin people’s lives with their stupidity, this I know from experience. I have no love of the police or their misuse of authority in the cases when this happens.
But here it appears to me that Phillips was given extraordinary lenient treatment until he made himself an outlaw with this second abscondment into the bush, (and he missed his court appearance and then began armed robberies with a child.)
So why is it called an ambush when they were trying to catch him after this latest burglary, which they had to do because once he found his way into the bush they were incapable of finding him or the children, apparently. Anyone will agree that four years is too long and getting increasingly dangerous for the children who had to be rescued from an obviously increasingly desperate and lunatic guy, who was prepared to leave two very young children alone in the bush and drag his 12 year old daughter into armed robbery, where she easily could have been killed. These are not actions of a responsible and loving father. What were the police supposed to do after he shot to kill one after being cornered at last? It’s a miracle that he didn’t do murder /suicide because this is where his behaviour was leading.
The police had four years to sort this out, they couldn’t and let the situation fester. Knowing what the police knew they should not have ‘cornered’ him, what did they expect was going to happen? No one with a sound mind is defending Tom Phillips actions however he was not a murderous criminal that needed to be ‘cornered’ and shot dead in front of his 12 year old daughter. There are a number of other ways this whole episode could have been managed better to achieve a more positive outcome. That is the challenge for the NZ Police to take up and make happen in future. What Martyn is expressing is given the NZ Police record who would want to hold their breath.
Seems to me as if the police in this occasion “could do no right for doing wrong” Tom Phillips was armed and dangerous whatever way you look at it , he shot a police man who was doing his job when an armed robbery had been committed, the police man was shot in the face in front of his daughter he was unable to defend himself the police car was shot to bits . There will be many questions re the safety of these children in the bush for 4 years there no doubt will be an inquiry. But please don’t make this man a hero ,a hero saves lives not endangers them .
Who is making him a hero? It appears fairly obvious the sad deadly outcome could have been avoided if the police had handled it in a different way.
Point gun at police ……shoot policeman………….get shot. Don’t shoot at police.
Don’t blame the cops, courts or the mother – Tom Phillips made his decisions – one policeman had seconds to make his.
Documentary with the police, what do you expect when you have the police Minister we have. He still talks like a cop.
Re Tom Phillips, sure looks like ruffled feathers’ day. Instead of us arguing differing points of view, we should feel sad that a life has been lost which could have been avoided had the relevant authorities done something positive and intelligent a long way back. Yes, hindsight is a wonderful thing! If indeed Tom took his children into hiding because he lost his custody battle then did the mother have legal custody in which case why haven’t they seen her and why are they claiming “extraordinary circumstances”? Most of us seem to agree:- [1] that the proposed doco is obscene; [2] there is clearly a problem why the mother isn’t seeing the children [look at the photo she posted and note the eldest daughter’s body language; [3] who fired the first shot and how many shots were fired? However the priority now is to move on and concentrate on the future welfare of the children. And it was never about Maori and non Maori. Even this morning I was told a rumour, now circulating, which I refuse to repeat. Again the spiteful out there will never go away – let’s all wait for the ‘real’ version and hopefully we will get told that!
“Reality TV Ratings Ghoul” woul;d be more accurate.
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