Local lawyer and former politician Norman George claims the Cook Islands Police Service has suffered destcruction under Prime Minister and police Minister Mark Brown.

The high profile former Speaker of Parliament yesterday sledged Brown in an opinion piece questioning why Brown was wasting money, time and energy attending Cop29 in Azerbaijan

“Our Minister for Police and Prime Minister has gone to Azerbaijan to attend Cop29 while we in Avaruabaijan face major Police copouts,” said the outspoken George.

“ First, the Police public counter must be manned at all times. Even if the Acting Commissioner of Police descends to the ground floor to work from there and attend to counter duties, rank and dignity no longer matter, there is no loss of face in an emergency. 

  “One man is responsible for all this, it is Prime Minister Mark Brown.  He did not need to attend Cop29. Cop29 was created in my time as Environment Minister.

“I attended Cop 1, Cop 2 and Cop 3 in Japan.  The portfolio should be held by an ordinary cabinet minister, not by the PM.  Our PM travels so much that most of the decision making is carried out in the first class cabin, which leads to first class mistakes and problems.

  “The Police service is no longer failing, it has failed and completely collapsed. 

“What Mark Brown is doing to the nation is irrational, demented, incurable and arrogantly irresponsible. In America, they remove Presidents by impeachment. In the Cook Islands and the Commonwealth it is by a motion of no confidence in Parliament. Here’s my take, you cannot smash rocks with eggs, only hard rocks can smash rocks.

Members of Parliament, stop the sleep. Stop the paralysis. Whatever political party you belong to, you all have a duty to save our beloved ipukarea. If you fail, would the last person to leave please turn the light off.”

 Norman George’s full opinion piece is published on page 4 today, PM Brown has been invited to reply to the criticism but had not responded by press time last night.