The police officer leading New Zealand's gun buyback following the Christchurch mosque shooting has assumed operational control for the Whakaari volcano response in an extraordinary shake-up of New Zealand's management of to the crisis.
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Mike Clement has taken over from fellow deputy commissioner John Tims as the leader of the response, and becomes the man who will ultimately decide whether to return to White Island to retrieve bodies.
Police Minister Stuart Nash visited Whakatane, the nearest town to the offshore volcano and the emergency response base, on Wednesday night and announced the changes in a late-night news conference.
Nash also revealed he had requested police invite hero helicopter pilot Mark Law into the police team looking to recover bodies.
Law was one of four quick-thinking pilots who headed to the island as it erupted and helped rescue stranded tourists.
"In an era where we overuse the word hero, I think Mark's actions and the actions of the other helicopter pilots were truly heroic," Nash said.
"Mark knows this Island incredibly well, my understanding is he did about a 45-minute reconnaissance of the island before he left.
"I want to bring back into the team actually to ensure that when Mark goes over there or when the team goes over there, they are doing so understanding the risks of what they are doing, and working in a way that mitigates the risk of any further harm."
Law has given a number of interviews since Monday arguing in favour of a quick return to Whakaari to return the bodies of the dead back to the New Zealand mainland.
That's a position the police have refused to sanction so far, as they rely on scientific advice that both the harsh local environment and the risk of a second eruption would endanger lives of the rescue team.
On Wednesday, geological monitoring agency GNS Science reported a major upswing in volcanic tremors on the island, suggesting there was a 40 to 60 per cent chance of a similar eruption to Monday's blast.
That data would make a rescue attempt on Thursday unlikely, a decision will now fall to Clement.
Despite the leader swap and other hiccups, Nash denied losing confidence in the police operations.
Tims was forced to apologise on Tuesday when he announced there would be a criminal investigation into the tragedy, only to retract the statement shortly after; a moment Nash called "a slip of the tongue".
Nash did say that police had fallen short in its efforts to provide clear information in the aftermath of the eruption, or to answer questions from the media.
"I have made my expectations to release very clear. I believe there should be a level of transparency and openness that perhaps, for whatever reason, hasn't existed up until now," Nash said.
The deputy commissioners are leading the response as top cop Mike Bush has been overseas at a conference - a position Nash said was "his call".
Australian Associated Press