Why a top police officer is in trouble over his Labour Party plans

A senior police officer told his manager he was thinking about standing as a Labour Party candidate about two weeks before he was officially chosen, according to information released under the Official Information Act RNZ.

The officer is Superintendent Rakesh Naidoo. He was confirmed on 8 June as a Labour Party list candidate, ranked 13th. In New Zealand's voting system, parties get seats in Parliament based on their share of the vote, and list candidates fill those seats in the order the party ranks them. Being 13th almost guarantees Naidoo a seat. He works as an ethnic, iwi and communities relationships manager for police and has been with New Zealand Police for 21 years RNZ.

Naidoo first talked to his manager, Assistant Commissioner Tim Anderson, about standing for Labour during the week starting 25 May. On 28 May, he gave Anderson printed copies of the relevant police policies, public service rules, and election laws.

On 4 June, Naidoo told Anderson in person that he was putting his name forward for Labour's list and would go to a party meeting on 6 June where the list is finalised. Anderson then rang Police Commissioner Richard Chambers — the head of New Zealand Police — at 3:21pm that same day to tell him.

On 7 June, Naidoo told Anderson he had been offered a place on the list and would decide that day whether to accept it. Later that afternoon, he confirmed he would take it.

Naidoo then sent Anderson an email called 'New Zealand General Election 2026'. He said his candidacy would be announced the next day. He also laid out a plan: he would keep working for police in a non-political way until 30 September, then take leave before nomination day on 8 October. Election day is 7 November. If he won, he would retire or resign from police on 27 November when the official results come out. If he lost, he would go back to work.

Here is where the problem lies. The police rulebook said a senior officer of Naidoo's rank had to tell the police commissioner directly about any plans to enter politics. But police chief assurance officer Mike Webb told RNZ there was no correspondence at all between Naidoo and Commissioner Chambers. RNZ had asked police for all messages between Naidoo, Chambers, and anyone else about his decision to stand for Labour. Police provided the information on a Wednesday RNZ.

Chambers said Naidoo's job was now untenable — meaning it could no longer work — and that Naidoo should have told him earlier. A review is now looking into the period when Naidoo was engaging with Labour. Naidoo is currently on leave from police RNZ.

The case got political attention in June. Labour leader Chris Hipkins said Commissioner Chambers was not being a good employer with his comments about Naidoo RNZ. Ethnic communities publicly backed Naidoo as a candidate RNZ. Police Minister Mark Mitchell pushed back against what he called character attacks on Naidoo RNZ.

The broader context here is the gap between what the rules said and what actually happened. The police rulebook said Naidoo needed to go straight to the commissioner. Instead, he told his manager, Anderson, who then passed it on to Chambers by phone on 4 June. There was nothing in writing between Naidoo and Chambers himself.

That gap is the main reason Chambers said Naidoo's position was untenable. The review now under way will look at whether going through Anderson was good enough to meet the spirit of the rules, or whether Naidoo should have gone to Chambers directly.

For people working in politics and government, this case also raises wider questions about public servants who want to enter political life. Naidoo had a careful plan to stay in his police job without being political, take leave before the election, and then either resign or go back to work. Whether that plan would have worked is now beside the point. The review and Naidoo's current leave show the matter is not resolved, and the results could affect how police handle similar cases before the November election.