Police Minister cites 'ongoing matter' involving Labour candidate Rakesh Naidoo
Police Minister Mark Mitchell says there is an "ongoing matter" in relation to Labour candidate and former police superintendent Rakesh Naidoo. He declined to say what the matter is and said he could not comment further, according to RNZ.
Police declined to comment on Mitchell's remarks. When RNZ asked whether Naidoo was under investigation, police said "we have no further comment on the matter". Labour said it had not been informed of an investigation, a party spokesperson told RNZ. Naidoo told RNZ he would not act differently with hindsight, pointing to the police review that cleared him.
Naidoo's Labour candidacy was announced in June. The former superintendent is standing for Labour and is high on its party list ahead of the general election on 7 November 2026. The list is the ranked roll parties use to fill seats in Parliament under MMP.
The selection raised questions about notice and process. Naidoo told his police boss two weeks before his Labour selection. His manager later apologised for not informing Police Commissioner Richard Chambers that Naidoo was considering standing. Chambers said he was "very disappointed" Naidoo had not given earlier notice of his intention to stand.
Mitchell and Chambers then criticised Naidoo in public, saying he should have declared his political intentions earlier. An internal police review concluded Naidoo had complied with police policy, while noting it would have been prudent to give superiors more advance warning. At the time, Labour leader Chris Hipkins accused the commissioner of not being a good employer over the comments. Hipkins has now said Mitchell had "crossed a line" by commenting on Naidoo.
Mitchell has confirmed he had two phone calls with Chambers on 8 and 9 June to discuss the Naidoo situation. He has also declined to release information about a sensitive briefing Naidoo attended with the minister, citing section 6(c) of the Official Information Act, the law that controls access to official information. Mitchell's office confirmed to RNZ that the grounds for withholding under section 6(c) still applied. Earlier reporting noted Mitchell held pre-existing concerns about that briefing.
Naidoo served with New Zealand Police for 21 years. He was the first Asian Inspector in New Zealand Police and later held the role of Strategic Ethnic Advisor. He was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the first King's Birthday Honours after a community nomination.
The broader context here is the narrow line ministers and commissioners must hold when a senior officer enters party politics. The record so far has two parts. One is the completed employment question, where the internal review found compliance with policy. The other is the undefined matter Mitchell referred to on 15 September, where neither the minister nor police will elaborate and Labour says it has received no advice of an investigation.
For readers in the Beehive and the parties, that information gap is the point to watch. A minister referring in public to an unresolved matter involving an opposition candidate invites scrutiny, particularly when the candidate is a recent senior constabulary employee. It also constrains what police can say, given operational independence and privacy obligations. Until Mitchell defines the matter, or police or Labour confirm its nature and status, the June dispute over notice and the June contacts between minister and commissioner will continue to frame how the claim is read.
