Deputy police commissioner Wally Haumaha has spoken out after Louise Nicholas slammed his appointment to the position.

Louise Nicholas says she went to police top brass with concerns about Wally Haumaha, over his relationship with the former officers she accused of raping her, back when he was being considered for an assistant police commissioner role.

The victims' rights advocate, who has worked alongside police for years to clean up its culture, says she's disappointed to learn her words had fallen on deaf ears when Haumaha was promoted even further, to deputy police commissioner, in May.

"I was angry – I hit the roof," says Louise. "An ugly beast was ready to rise ... and that is what has happened."

Louise says she had seen a police statement from Wally, in which he questioned why she publicly alleged in 2004 that his friends – former assistant commissioner Clint Rickards and former officers Brad Shipton and Bob Schollum – had pack raped her as a teenager in the 1980s.

Operation Austin began in 2004 after the allegations were made against Rickards, Shipton and Schollum. They claimed the sex was consensual and were found not guilty at a trial in 2006.

The jury was unaware Shipton and Schollum were already in jail on other rape charges.

After seeing statements from other officers held in the Operation Austin investigation file, Nicholas said it was clear Haumaha had tried to block the investigation and dismissed her allegations "as just absolute nonsense".

Wally said his close friends, who he had worked with in Rotorua, were good men who he had stood by after the scandal broke, she said.

In a statement released this afternoon, Wally says he wants to acknowledge the concerns expressed by Louise and others around his comments from 2004 regarding Operation Austin.

'It's important to say outright that I take responsibility for those comments, I deeply regret them, and I unreservedly apologise for the hurt and concern they have caused.

'That does not reflect my view or the values I bring to the job every day.

'In the 14 years since those comments, and particularly through the changes following the 2007 Commission of Inquiry, I have reflected deeply and often on what it means to live the values that New Zealanders rightly expect from their police,” says Wally.

'I recently met with Louise to assure her of my commitment to the work the organisation has done as a result of the Commission of Inquiry to improve our culture, and our service to victims of sexual assault.

'My previous association with those individuals does not reflect who I am now nor what the NZ Police stands for today.

'The culture of NZ Police has changed for the better in recent years as a result of the Inquiry and an ongoing commitment to our values, but there is still more work to do.

'My focus is on working tirelessly in NZ Police to build the trust and confidence of our communities.”

-Additional reporting from Stuff.co.nz