Ex-top cop Andrew Coster says ministers went too far in alleging there may have been police corruption involved in the Jevon McSkimming case, defending his own actions as honest mistakes in an exclusive Q+A interview.
Speaking out for the first time since the release of a damning report, Coster told Q+A he couldn't understand why commentary suggesting he and his colleagues were taking part in corruption had been made, when the IPCA's inquiry did not use those words.
Watch the full interview at 9am on Q+A with Jack Tame on TVNZ 1 and TVNZ+
"What I can't understand is why people, who I would have thought would have been able to judge differently, went there so quickly when the body that did the investigation didn't find that," Coster said in the interview airing this morning.
The ex-police commissioner stepped down as chief executive of the Social Investment Agency on Wednesday, having been under pressure for weeks over the IPCA report.
The authority said it found serious failings in how the upper echelons of police handled misconduct allegations made against then-deputy commissioner McSkimming.
He had been involved in a relationship with a young woman who later alleged non-consensual behaviour. The former deputy commissioner denied the allegations.
McSkimming resigned in May after detectives discovered objectionable images on his police devices, including child exploitation and bestiality material.
When asked directly if he was corrupt, Coster said on Q+A: "Absolutely not.
"At all times, I acted in good faith. I made my decisions honestly. I was mistaken. I made a wrong judgement about how to respond. My understanding of many things was incomplete at the time I was making my decisions."
The former police Commissioner had moved on to another government role but stepped down today. (Source: 1News)
Asked if there was corruption involved, Public Service Minister Judith Collins said last month: "If it walks like a duck, and it quacks like a duck, it's not looking good, is it?"
Coster responded to that saying: "I couldn't believe how aggressively the media on this was positioned from the outset.
"In positioning the report publicly, you had ministers and others implying corruption and sometimes expressly saying cover-up. If the independent body assigned to investigate these things has not found that, why would you position it publicly that way?"
In an interview with Q+A in November, Police Minister Mark Mitchell made – and subsequently walked back – an allegation of a “corrupt police executive” with regards to how emails to his office complaining of McSkimming’s behaviour were handled.
Over several years, the complainant wrote 300 emails about the offences of Jevon McSkimming, only to be ignored and then persecuted. (Source: 1News)
"They went well beyond what the report found, and from my perspective, they are without basis," Coster said.
Mitchell, in reaction to the latest comments, said: "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."
In the extended length interview, the former commissioner accepted his judgement about McSkimming had been wrong, but disputed the IPCA's characterisation that he sought to influence the criminal investigation for the benefit of another person.
He defended an October 2024 meeting where all five attendees said he placed extreme importance on completing the investigation quickly, with one officer saying they were "gobsmacked" at perceived suggestion of shortcuts.
"I was not circumventing police policy," Coster said, arguing there was no clear manual for dealing with allegations against someone of McSkimming's seniority.
Coster also spoke on current Police Commissioner Richard Chambers' leadership approach and defended Tania Kura's controversial visit to McSkimming after his arrest.
Coster resigns government job
Public Service Commissioner Brian Roche confirmed Coster had resigned his role as the Social Investment Agency's chief executive on Wednesday after weeks of speculation over the beleaguered executive's position.
"I respect Mr Coster’s decision. It was the right thing to do," Sir Brian said at the time.
Coster's departure was widely expected following critical comments from government ministers and an employment review set in force by Roche.
"I also acknowledge that the IPCA found no evidence of corruption or cover-up when undertaking their review," Sir Brian said.
"While the IPCA found serious leadership failures occurred, there was no evidence of senior officers consciously doing the wrong thing or setting out to undermine the integrity of the organisation.
"What is clear, however, is that there was significant evidence of failures within the organisation that Mr Coster was then accountable for. Systems, processes, delegations and behaviours that you would expect to be embedded were not followed."
While the objectionable material found on McSkimming's computer was unrelated to the initial misconduct allegations, it was uncovered during the investigation those allegations eventually prompted.
The IPCA report released last month only concerns the question of whether police responded appropriately to the allegations made by the complainant, before a formal police investigation into the complaints was launched in November 2024.
The authority said it was still reviewing the adequacy of Operation Jefferson and would report back on its inquiries "as soon as practicable".
McSkimming has pleaded guilty to possession of objectionable material and will be sentenced later this month.
For the full interview with Andrew Coster, watch Q+A at 9am on TVNZ 1 and TVNZ+
Q+A with Jack Tame is made with the support of New Zealand On Air
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