Greg O’Conner on Breakfast this morning.

Why is Dominic Bowden interviewing Greg O’Conner and getting screwed for 5 long minutes on the issue of Tasers? It was the most unchallenged piece of police state propaganda with Bowden, who forgive me but wasn’t he the host of NZ Pop Idle? I never watched it, but isn’t that what he does, he’s the game show host who is now suddenly a Journalist? Great. So the ex host of NZ Pop Idle is interviewing the country’s Police Cheerleader, Greg O’Conner on the sudden move by the Police Commissioner to hand Police Tasers after an inquiry that Amnesty International described as not rigorous, independent or impartial. Dominic did his best, and I must admit that he’s been a lot less annoying than the other defects who tried co-hosting Breakfast during Paul Henry’s tour of capitalism (who would have thought such a small man could hide such a dearth of talent?) but he was so far out of his depth I almost dialed 111 for emergency services. Greg O’Conner is a terrifying prospect for everyone from hairdressers to paper delivery boys, he has the kind of self belief that made the Spanish Inquisition such a focused exercise in broken windows social policy, I imagine Greg has two of the most disciplined rottweilers known to man. He barely broke a sweat swatting Dominic aside and pulled a nasty face as if Dominic had just farted green mould when Dom had the temerity to ask if the Tasers were controversial. He didn’t discuss the 300 deaths in North America since the Tasers were introduced in 2001, he didn’t discuss the inquiry process and why Amnesty International was calling on a rigorous, independent or impartial inquiry into Tasers rather than simply the opinion of the Police, or why we should give Police Tasers when they can’t use pepper spray within their own procedures or that we still have a complaints process that is still 70% Police investigating Police? Um, no, Dom didn’t really get around to asking any of these questions. Pity. Great to see he got a gig after NZ Pop Idle though eh. Good for him. Neat. Tops. Gosh imagine if an actual Journalist had asked Greg actual questions and pushed right past the pulled faces and actually held him accountable to those very valid and serious concerns. But good for Dom.