Mark Morri: Police Commissioner Karen Webb’s out and the hunger games have already begun
There are whispers Karen Webb has made it clear who she doesn’t want replacing her in the top job, but her endorsement for her interim replacement is a slap in the face, writes Mark Morri.
Opinion
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There is no more vicious a political arena than the NSW Police Force and, with Commissioner Karen Webb now going, the hunger games have begun.
Already there are whispers Webb has made it clear she does not want NSW Reconstruction Authority boss Mal Lanyon, who is no friend of hers, to be appointed as interim commissioner upon her departure.
Instead, she has publicly anointed Deputy Commissioner Peter Thurtell, a well-respected and seasoned copper, to fill the gap while the state government looks for a full time replacement.
Many see the endorsement as one that gives her closest ally, Deputy Commissioner Paul Pisanos, some time to lift his profile and make a run at the top job.
It’s a Webb blunder. Thurtell, as capable as he is, has already delayed retirement once to help out Webb and has openly been talking about life after he retires in July.
Her endorsement of Thurtell is also a slap in the face to her long-suffering deputy, Dave Hudson, who has saved her repeatedly at press conferences as she blundered her way through many of them.
“No previous commissioner has come out ever to say they favour one person over another,” a senior source said.
“They may privately make recommendations to the Premier, but not publicly.”
In her three years as commissioner, try as she might, Webb has been less than inspiring to her troops, with morale now at its lowest ebb in decades.
On the front line, from constables to assistant commissioners, Dave Hudson is respected and liked.
He has shown leadership time and time again, while Webb has faced significant criticism of her leadership.
Hudson, who is of retirement age, may not be a long-term solution, but is what is needed in the short-term to begin the process to heal the damage done in recent years.
And, unlike Webb’s preferred option, he hasn’t already announced to all and sundry he is retiring.
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