Ryan Bridge: The clock for Coster is now ticking

Coster is a dead man walking at this point.

Anyone not completely brainwashed during Covid could see there was something a bit off about him - this IPCA report is proof they were right.

He knew about this so-called ‘affair’ McSkimming had - the woman had worked for the Police.

He didn’t ask the questions he should have. He promoted McSkimming and didn’t tell the people he should have told about dodgy stuff. Which makes it look, well, dodgier, doesn’t it?

In August, I asked Coster about McSkimming. No answers then, and still no answers now.

We’ve asked to speak to him this morning, he’s on leave.

Nicola Willis gets tangled up in this, too. She recommended Coster for his current job. He’s still got five years on his contract. She says she’s appalled, but she can’t fire him. That’s a job for Brian Roche.

I don’t think there’s any doubt he’s going to get the sack, unless he resigns first.

The whole thing is an absolute cluster.

In a big government job like Police Commissioner, you’ve got to cross the t's and dot the i’s. It’s a $700k job. Coster wasn’t up to the job.

And if he doesn’t quit his current one, it’s only a matter of time now before it's taken from him.

The clock for Coster is now ticking.

And for the frontline, sadly, respect and integrity takes a lifetime to earn and moment to lose.

They're the ones who'll cop the backlash. They're the ones who have to actually talk to real people everyday. As of 6 o'clock last night, their jobs just became a lot harder.

Ryan Bridge is a New Zealand broadcaster who has worked on many current affairs television and radio shows. He currently hosts Newstalk ZB's Early Edition - where this article was sourced.