Barry Soper: Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent on Police Commissioner Richard Chambers weighing in after Marokopa incident

The four-year long manhunt for Phillips and his three children ended early yesterday morning - when police shot and killed him in rural Waikato.

One of his children was found with him, and the other two were located at a campsite in dense bush.

Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper said Police Commissioner Richard Chambers weighed in on the case during a 'sombre' press conference.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Barry Sober, senior political correspondents with US. Hey Barry, Good afternoon, Heather. Okay,
so what's the update on the Tom Phillips from a
political perspective.

Speaker 2 (00:06):
Well, it was interesting. I know you probably watched it
as well. I watched the press conference this morning, both
the Police Minister Mark Mitchell and the Commissioner Richard Chambers.
They visited the constable who was shot in Waikato hospital
this morning. It was a very somber press conference. I
might say. Richard chambers voice was close to cracking. I

(00:30):
thought on a few occasions. It just shows that he's
very close to his men and that's probably why he
got the job. But they're both back from Melbourne and
you know, the irony is terrible really that they were
at a funeral of one of the officers who was
shot over there last week. So that's particularly sad. Chambers said.
The officer here is doing well after being shot several

(00:53):
times by Tom Phillips.

Speaker 3 (00:55):
He was able to speak to us a little bit.
His eyes are not open, you'd appreciate that. Yesterday he
spent a good deal of the day in surgery. As
I said, it's very confronting, but he knows where there
he was able to share a couple of laughs and
that's good, but it's pretty hard the threat that mister
Phillips presented. He was a very motivated offender. He had

(01:16):
a very high powered rifle. As you've heard the Minister saying,
there is absolutely no doubt his intent was to kill
the police officer.

Speaker 4 (01:24):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:24):
I heard you on with the child psychologists earlier. Head
that you know, for a twelve year old to see
a father being shot and we're still to see a
policeman being shot as well. Just it must be so traumatic.

Speaker 1 (01:38):
Yeah, such a long road, such a long road to recovery. Okay,
So Winston in a fight verbal.

Speaker 2 (01:48):
He loves stirring in Parliament. It's his theater. Basically, he
was at it again. The Greens were resplendent in their
Palestinian scar. I was wondering why New Zealand is not
recognizing Palestine when many other countries are now doing so.
But it was the intervention of the Mildi parties. Debbie

(02:11):
Noriwa Packer who got Peter's got on Peter's goat. The
Foreign Minister told her in New Zealand's requorders without parallel
before it turns.

Speaker 5 (02:21):
Out here which one of those countries can tell us
what democracies should look like, given our proud record going
all the way back to eighteen fifty four and giving
Marry the vote lad in sixty seven and women the
vote first before all the other countries. No, no, no, no, no,
no about it. I'm not not half Marray. I mean
real ones, not Irish packers, not Irish packers, not Irish

(02:42):
packast order muster speaker, quite a border demia.

Speaker 6 (02:46):
I take offense to what the previous speaker has just said,
and it is not it is not appropriate to use
this place to blood quantum and to sit there and
suggest that someone's to sit down, to suggest that someone
is past something.

Speaker 2 (03:02):
Well, she seems to have forgotten that her co leader
Rawi Whitey Tea, he made a statement about Mardi having
superior genetics to park yad. So yeah, the kettle black it.

Speaker 1 (03:18):
Is rich coming from them, because remember they she was
She not also one of the ones who made a
suggestion that David Seymour was not a real Marty.

Speaker 2 (03:25):
Oh absolutely yeah, because is not quite as thick as well.

Speaker 1 (03:30):
He wasn't behaving like she was, just childish stuff. It
is veryldish. Who's invited Nichola Willis to go and see
the homeless in Auckland.

Speaker 2 (03:37):
Well, I'll let you have a guess as I talk
about it. It was again very lively, but the topics
I've got to say in question time today they don't
change very much from one recess to another. The Green's
Chloe Swarwick was again raising the plight of homeless, particularly
in her electorate of Auckland Central. For weeks now she's

(03:59):
been in by the Prime Minister to take a walk
with her to meet street dwellers. Well, today she turned
her attention to the Finance Mister, inviting her to do
the same, and as usual at miss the Mark.

Speaker 4 (04:11):
Will the Finance Minister then take up the invitation which
the Prime Minister has so far ignored, to walk the
streets of Auckland Central to meet the people, including the
children who her government's decisions have made homeless.

Speaker 7 (04:26):
Well, mister Speaker, I think the more immediate response, if
the Member is aware of any children living on the street,
would be for her to urgently bring that information to
the Ministry of Social Development to ensure those children get
the support to which they are entitled.

Speaker 2 (04:39):
And the truth is that I walk on the streets
of Auckland every day and I've never seen children sleeping
rough on the streets. So you know, again, Chloe Swarbrick
is missing the mark.

Speaker 1 (04:52):
All right, Hey, Barry, thanks very much, appreciate it. Barry Soper,
Senior political correspondent.

Speaker 2 (04:57):
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