Crossword Genius

Staff hypocrisy banning union at last? It stinks (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

polecat

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'banning union at last? it stinks' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.

'staff hypocrisy' is the wordplay.
'staff' becomes 'pole' (both can mean a stick).
'hypocrisy' becomes 'cat' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'pole'+'cat'='POLECAT'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for polecat that I've seen before include "Unpleasant-smelling woodland animal" , "Smelly animal" , "Kind of weasel, called skunk in America" , "Weasel-like mammal" , "Weasel-like creature" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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