TV1 Insight Doco.

**Lou Girardin** · 20th May 2005, 08:21

This was more interesting than I expected. George Hawkins was even more pathetic than I'd imagined. What does this guy have on Helen Clark that she made him a cabinet minister?
Gregg O'Connor surprised me by getting stuck into Hawkins and Police management. Well Done.
What was missing was real cops telling the truth about the realities on the job. We had some ex-cops make some good points, but actual cops were represented by a couple of rah rah cheerleader types. I suppose any sign of dissension means the end of your career, like the whistle-blower at the comms centre.
What was telling was the poll at the end, where some 65 -70 percent of callers said they still had confidence in the Police. If Hawkins and Robinson take comfort from this they are very mistaken. TV1's demographic is mainly middle class, middle aged (or older) white folks. If a sizable minority of them have no confidence in the Police there is a very serious problem.

**bear** · 20th May 2005, 08:47

I thought the poll was a little misleading, from memory the question was "Have you lost confidence in the Police lately". This is quite different to how Simon Dallow read the result of the poll to be that in general the public still had confidence in the police.
The poll did not ask if those who voted had confidence in the Police in the first place.

The results were a total of about 7200 votes, with about 4100 saying they had not lost confidence in the Police, and about 3100 saying they had.
That's a huge 43% saying they had lost confidence.

I found it interesting that they only showed these figures quickly and didn't show them as a percentage. I reckon if the odds were more favourable, percentages would have been provided, but because it was tight - they weren't.

Part of the summary was the fact that most of NZ still had confidence in the Police - how was that determined? As as you say Lou the sample is probably a bit limited.

Agree that George Hawkins did not come across well, looks like he's ready for retirement. That lady down the back left - what a pain in the rectum!

**Hitcher** · 20th May 2005, 08:58

Don't judge Hon Hawkins too harshly. He had a pretty major stroke a couple of years ago. That explains the facial stuff and the slurring of his speech. Intellect? Well, that's another matter entirely...

**Lou Girardin** · 20th May 2005, 09:13

I know he's handicapped, it was the inane answers that got me.

**Pixie** · 20th May 2005, 12:20

Originally Posted by Lou Girardin

This was more interesting than I expected. George Hawkins was even more pathetic than I'd imagined. What does this guy have on Helen Clark that she made him a cabinet minister?
Gregg O'Connor surprised me by getting stuck into Hawkins and Police management. Well Done.
What was missing was real cops telling the truth about the realities on the job. We had some ex-cops make some good points, but actual cops were represented by a couple of rah rah cheerleader types. I suppose any sign of dissension means the end of your career, like the whistle-blower at the comms centre.
What was telling was the poll at the end, where some 65 -70 percent of callers said they still had confidence in the Police. If Hawkins and Robinson take comfort from this they are very mistaken. TV1's demographic is mainly middle class, middle aged (or older) white folks. If a sizable minority of them have no confidence in the Police there is a very serious problem.

George is the token vege in Helen's All Girl Government.(HAGG)