Former police commissioner Andrew Coster has made explosive claims that senior figures knew more about the Jevon McSkimming case than they have previously said.
In his first interview since a damning IPCA report and his subsequent resignation from his new government role this week, Coster spoke to Q+A's Jack Tame. He said former prime minister and ex-police minister Chris Hipkins and current police minister Mark Mitchell both had knowledge of aspects of the case before it became public.
He says he told Hipkins in 2022 and Mitchell in 2024 about the case surrounding McSkimming, the disgraced former deputy police commissioner.
Hipkins and Mitchell have strongly pushed back on Coster's claims in statements to Q+A.
McSkimming had a relationship with a younger woman, known as Ms Z, who later claimed non-consensual behaviour. He later resigned after child exploitation and bestiality material were found on his police laptop, for which he is now awaiting sentencing.
When asked directly whether Mitchell and Hipkins had been untruthful about what they knew, Coster said others would have to form their own judgement. He said he was not accusing either of acting inappropriately.
"I can only tell you that there doesn't appear to have been a full disclosure of the conversations that occurred across the breadth of this issue," he said.
Coster added: "The people that I briefed, admittedly sharing my view of it, all formed much the same view of the situation that I did." He also said the IPCA received multiple communications throughout 2024 about the matter.
Who knew what, and when?
Perhaps the most explosive claims in Coster's interview concern what he says he disclosed to senior politicians and oversight bodies — and what they now say they remember. Tame asked him: "Your contention is that all of those parties knew more than they have publicly admitted in recent weeks?"
"Yes," Coster replied.
Last month, Labour leader Hipkins denied anything was raised about McSkimming "during my time as police minister or prime minister or during the vetting process for the deputy commissioner role".
Coster's version is different: "I told him that Jevon had told me that he had an affair. That it was with a much younger woman that went badly wrong, and that email allegations were now flying as a result of it."
He described briefing Hipkins while they travelled together in the South Island in July 2022: "As we were travelling, sitting in the back of the car together, I gave him that briefing. It was a casual conversation, it wasn't a formal thing, but it did happen."
Can he prove it? "No," Coster conceded, acknowledging he didn't keep a record.
"One of my big reflections from all of this is keeping better records than I kept. I wrongly assumed that people wouldn't run for the hills when something like this happened."
Police Minister Mitchell previously told media he only heard about the McSkimming misconduct allegations on November 6, 2024 — during Coster's final days as police commissioner.
"No, that is not correct. There is no way that I was only just telling him about all of this in my last couple of weeks in the job," Coster told Q+A.
"We had discussed this informally at some stage through the course of 2024."
Asked directly whether police ministers, current and former, have been untruthful, Coster said: "I think others have to form a judgement on that."
Regarding Mitchell's claim that his office was instructed to redirect McSkimming-related emails away from him, Coster said: "The first I heard of that was when I heard that allegation made... I had absolutely no knowledge of that whatsoever.
"There's no way in the world that agency-employed staff in a minister's office are able to prevent the minister, or the minister's staff, from seeing email coming in on the minister's email address."
Mitchell and Hipkins respond
Both Hipkins and Mitchell have pushed back on claims they were briefed on McSkimming earlier than they've otherwise publically disclosed. Hipkins was the police minister between June 2022 and January 2023, before becoming prime minister.
He recommended McSkimming be appointed to a statutory deputy commissioner role in April 2023. But the Labour leader said he had "no recollection" of speaking with Coster about McSkimming prior to then.
"I have no recollection of this conversation. Had I been informed, Jevon McSkimming would not have been appointed to the role," he told Q+A in a statement.
Mark Mitchell later walked back a comment he made about a "corrupt police executive" following the interview. (Source: Q and A)
Current police minister Mitchell was critical of Coster himself.
"It is disappointing that following his resignation, that came with an apology to police less than a week ago, Mr Coster is trying to deflect and relitigate matters.
"I firmly stand by all my statements and facts presented in relation to the IPCA report. Mr Coster’s recollections are wrong.
"I want to make very clear that Mr Coster never briefed me, either formally or informally, about Jevon McSkimming and Ms Z prior to November 6, 2024."
Mitchell added: "I would note his recollections of disclosures in the IPCA report were often found to be inconsistent and unreliable.
"If Mr Coster’s focus is on relitigating matters, there are legal recourses available to him and if he truly believes what he is saying, nothing prevents him pursuing those."
The former police Commissioner had moved on to another government role but stepped down today. (Source: 1News)
A meeting five people remember differently
One of the most contentious findings in the IPCA report centres on a meeting held on October 30, 2024, to discuss the criminal investigation into McSkimming.
According to the report: "All attendees at the meeting recall Coster placing the utmost importance on the timeliness of the investigation, so it would have minimal impact on deputy commissioner McSkimming’s chances of becoming the next commissioner. One made notes that said: 'Time is of the essence. A week’s delay isn’t basically acceptable.'"
Officer K told investigators: "I was gobsmacked at the idea that [Andrew Coster] wanted to take some sort of shortcut to a resolution." Officer M reportedly said: "We’ve basically been asked to do an adult sexual assault investigation in a week."
Coster disputes this characterisation. "I was keen to make sure that the right resources were applied and the investigation was moved forward in a timely fashion.
"I certainly never required that it be done in a week. That's not realistic."
Coster added: "The people that we're talking about in that meeting are not my direct reports. They were not my direct reports' direct reports. They were direct reports of my direct reports' direct reports.
"So it just gives you a bit of a sense of the hierarchical aspects of this... I accept their perception was what it was. But my intention was for this to be done properly, but balancing the competing interests."
He added when pressed: "I'm not arguing about recollections here. I'm arguing about intent. And my intent in that situation was to balance the various interests."
Coster's letter to the IPCA scrutinised
One of the most serious allegations in the IPCA report is that Coster sought to influence an investigation by writing to the authority to request swift action in the case — timing that coincided with McSkimming's application for the commissioner role.
"But nevertheless, why would a commissioner in writing try and influence the IPCA? It's just so improper," Tame asked.
Coster defended his actions in the context of the information he considered at the time.
"I believe there was a natural justice issue there. My letter, which you know, is very open, and the way it's framed was about laying out for the IPCA the competing interests that I believed were at play, and it acknowledged that the decision-making was for them.
"I was simply wanting to put those matters on the radar."
"Did you want him to get the commissioner job?" Tame asked.
"I believed he was the best at policing... I considered that he was by far the strongest potential applicant, and obviously my judgement in hindsight was very wrong, but it was my belief that he was the strongest for the role," Coster said.
"I certainly believed he was someone who would take the organisation forward in the right way, and that he had the wherewithal to run what is a massive organisation with a now nearly $3 billion budget. That requires a pretty broad skill set, and I considered that he was the strongest applicant on those grounds."
The IPCA found Coster "sought to exercise influence over the conduct of a serious criminal investigation for the purpose of ensuring it did not interfere with a job application process".
"I don't accept the IPCA's characterisation of that," Coster said.
Allegations of Public Service Commission briefing
Coster also claimed he briefed Public Service Commission (PSC) deputy commissioner Heather Baggott after his trip to the South Island with Chris Hipkins in 2022.
He did not provide an exact date for this briefing.
Coster claimed to have told Baggott about the conversation he’d had with Hipkins.
The briefing is referenced in the IPCA report, but Coster acknowledged the report did not adopt his version of that conversation. In response to this allegation, Public Service Commissioner Sir Brian Roche said Baggott rejected Coster’s recollection, adding the IPCA’s investigation had found her account to be credible.
“She wasn’t at the commission when Mr Coster claims to have informed her. In addition, she did not have any responsibility for statutory appointments undertaken by the commission at the time,” said Sir Brian.
"The IPCA rightly came down on the side of Ms Baggott’s version of events."
Coster and Hipkins’ tour of the South Island was between July 5 and July 8, 2022. Heather Baggott did not leave the Public Service Commission until July 22, 2022, to take up a temporary post as acting chief executive of the Ministry for Culture and Heritage.
On her return to the PSC, Baggott chaired a panel from January 2023 onwards that considered applicants for the statutory deputy police commissioner role, which McSkimming was eventually appointed to.
Coster defends ex-deputy's visit to McSkimming
The scandal claimed another high-profile casualty when deputy commissioner Tania Kura abruptly left the police force amid scrutiny over her decision to visit McSkimming following his arrest for possessing child sexual exploitation and bestiality material.
Current Police Commissioner Richard Chambers was unequivocal in his condemnation: "When I found out about that from concerned colleagues, I asked Tania Kura for an explanation and I expressed my disappointment in her.
"To me, it showed a total lack of judgement and very bad decision-making. It was inappropriate for an executive member and a statutory deputy commissioner."
Coster disagreed and defended his former colleague's actions.
"Tania is a good person. When Tania says 'I went there to check on his wellbeing,' that's what she was doing," he told Q+A.
"It's very tempting to treat someone who has been found to be doing what he was doing as a non-human. He was still the responsibility of New Zealand Police in terms of his wellbeing until he wasn't."
Coster continued: "I accept the way it looks and a risk-averse leader would say, you know, 'Stuff him, I'm not going to see him. He can do what he wants.' I think she was trying to do the right thing for someone who at the end of this is still a human being."
'I kept professional distance'
Coster said he learned about the material found on McSkimming's computer the same way most New Zealanders did: through the media, and weeks after he'd left police.
"I was gutted for the organisation. I was gutted for the colleagues who put their trust in him," he said. "I couldn't believe it."
He added: "Jevon was a talented police officer. A trusted colleague, someone who people got on well with. He was innovative. He was very good at his job," Coster recalled of the disgraced senior officer. But he insisted their relationship was strictly professional: "We were, from my perspective, good colleagues... But I keep a professional distance."
He denied being friends with McSkimming or that the men attended the same church.
No corruption and no cover-up, Coster says
Throughout the interview, Coster returned repeatedly to what he sees as a crucial distinction: while he accepts his judgement was badly wrong, he insists the IPCA report does not support accusations of corruption or cover-up.
"I acted honestly. I acted in good faith. My judgements were wrong and I accept that.
"The thing that's really grated on me and part of the reason why I didn't jump straight to resignation [from the Social Investment Agency] is it was very important for me to have acknowledged that the report does not find corruption, it does not find cover-up, it does not find collusion," he said.
He noted "the report does not use the word serious misconduct anywhere," though acknowledged being "at a little bit of a loss" about why the IPCA's media release referred to serious misconduct when the report itself did not use the phrase.
"Alleging that a police organisation is corrupt is the most serious judgement you can make on policing," Coster said. "It's hugely damaged the reputation of the organisation."
Speaking to Q+A, he said he worried the scandal would undermine the changes in police he championed: "It creates a platform for people to say that that was all rubbish, we need to do something completely different. So I regret that, I regret it hugely."
Coster said he secured the minimum entitlements of leaving his role as chief executive of the Social Investment Agency and social investment secretary.
Reaction to Coster's Q+A interview
Police Minister Mark Mitchell
"It is disappointing that following his resignation, that came with an apology to police less than a week ago, Mr Coster is trying to deflect and relitigate matters.
"I firmly stand by all my statements and facts presented in relation to the IPCA report. Mr Coster’s recollections are wrong.
"I want to make very clear that Mr Coster never briefed me, either formally or informally, about Jevon McSkimming and Ms Z prior to 6 November 2024.
"I would note his recollections of disclosures in the IPCA report were often found to be inconsistent and unreliable.
"If Mr Coster’s focus is on relitigating matters, there are legal recourses available to him and if he truly believes what he is saying, nothing prevents him pursuing those.
"As a Government, our focus is on implementing the recommendations of the IPCA report to ensure this cannot happen again."
Labour leader and former prime minister Chris Hipkins
“I have no recollection of this conversation. Had I been informed, Jevon McSkimming would not have been appointed to the role.”
Public Service Commissioner Sir Brian Roche
"I’m disappointed this matter continues to be relitigated. The record and the facts speak for themselves. The IPCA’s independent investigation, which has full powers of inquiry, found, on the basis of the evidence, Ms Baggott’s account to be credible and Mr Coster’s account not credible. Ms Baggott strongly refuted Mr Coster’s recollection – she wasn’t at the Commission when Mr Coster claims to have informed her.
"In addition, she did not have any responsibility for statutory appointments undertaken by the commission at the time.
"The IPCA rightly came down on the side of Ms Baggott’s version of events."
An IPCA spokesperson
"[The] extent of the IPCA’s knowledge of the allegations has been set out in Issue 7 of the report. We have indicated what we knew at relevant times.
"We have also acknowledged that the IPCA had opportunities to make further enquiries that it failed to act on.
"In relation to our use of the phrase 'serious misconduct' in our press release, the IPCA was not conducting an employment investigation and was not making employment findings. We were reporting our view of the misconduct. It was appropriate for us to describe the seriousness of that conduct in a press release. The adjective 'serious' properly reflected the IPCA’s view of the gravity of the behaviour."
In response to Coster's suggestion that he told the IPCA chair details about a woman becoming "increasingly hysterical" in mid-2023, a spokesperson responded to Q+A.
"The report sets out that there were conflicting accounts of what was said at that meeting, and those undertaking the investigation within the authority were unable to resolve that conflict. The chair told the investigation he was advised at some point that the young woman was “becoming increasingly hysterical”. His evidence was inconsistent as to whether he was told that at the initial briefing in mid-2023 by Mr Coster or subsequently in 2024, at the time he was told the young woman had been charged.
"The report could have included that further detail. Regardless, as the report states, the mid-2023 briefing was one of the opportunities where the IPCA should have asked further questions of Mr Coster."
Additional reporting by Q+A Reporters
Q+A with Jack Tame is made with the support of New Zealand On Air
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